


One of a Kind

by InudaTheFox



Series: Pink Tails, Caramel Wings [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Crystal Gems (Steven Universe), Bitch you can FLY, But she is stuck as a pidgey lmao, But they deal with it bc of Steven and Garnet, Drama & Romance, Enjoy suffering you feather child >:), Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Female Reader, Garnet is soft for Reader and Steven, Gijinkas, He is only baby, Identity Issues, Kinda Pearl bashing??? Only at the beginning, Let Steven say fuck 2020, Like I kid you not, Lots of foul language, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Metahuman Reader, Multi, Panic Attacks, Pokemon, Pokemon References, Reader and Pearl dont like each other, Reader evolves, Reader is a PokeMorph, Reader is a year older than Steven, Reader is soft for Steven, Reader is tired, Reader loves to fly so yay who the fuck wants to walk???, Reader-Insert, SQUARE MOM SQUARE MOM SQUARE M-!!!, Sad Steven Universe, Shapeshifting, Steven calls Reader "Birdie" despite her having an actual name, Steven us MUCH smarter than he seems, Swearing, Traumatized Steven Universe, Warning: Foul language, hahah reader is NOT having a fun time :), reader is female, reader tries her best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23781832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InudaTheFox/pseuds/InudaTheFox
Summary: You... remember waking up.You remember meeting a boy, a small one at that, helping you up and bringing you home.You didn't know your name, or what you were- are.Just that you have wings.The boy calls you "Birdie". You like the name.You're home, you're here, you're alive. But... with all these gem monsters, how long is that going to last?You can only pray that you're strong enough to earn your keep. Mentally, physically, emotionally- you dont care. As long as you and your friend are safe- as long as you can protect him, you just don't care.You'll protect him with your life....Even if it breaks you.
Relationships: Amethyst & Steven Universe, Amethyst (Steven Universe) & Reader, Connie Maheswaran & Reader, Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Garnet & Steven Universe, Pearl & Steven Universe, Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Rose Quartz/Greg Universe, Steven Universe/Reader, Steven Universe/Reader/Connie Maheswaran
Series: Pink Tails, Caramel Wings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713268
Comments: 15
Kudos: 88





	1. For when I awake

**_‘What…’_ **

Colored eyes creak open in the darkness.

**_‘Where…?’_ **

Hands stretch, gripping for  _ something, _ yet… there’s nothing  _ there. _

The emptiness  _ looms _ above them, heaviness suspending in their barely formed chest.

**_‘Where… am I?’_ **

**_‘...Who… am I?’_ **

Their body shifts again, materializing within the darkness-  _ one _ with the shadows- and grows a pair of pink, triangular ears and a long, pink tail with a bulbous tip. It flicks, but the creature doesn’t see it.

Their vision is merely covered by darkness, as black as night and as pressuring as an abyss.

**_‘Is this… home?’_ **

The body flashes white, forming into a pink kitten, eyes glaring deep into the abyss, yet unseeing.

**_‘What… is home?’_ **

Their body changes again, into a small, human child, yet the ears and tail stay.

The being uncoils from the tight ball it was birthed in, sitting on its side, unseeing, but listening, ears twitching in each direction for the slightest of sounds.

**_‘Am I home? Who is ‘I’?’_ **

**_‘Am I me? Who is_ ** **_‘me’_ ** **_?’_ **

Images flash in their brain’s eye, of a little girl with long hair, a bright smile, flushed cheeks, and closed eyes laughing, chasing after a cute, fuzzy creature on four legs.

It shifts to a tall woman, smiling brokenly down at them, eyes teary and soft,  _ “(Y..... ome… mom… mis… ou.” _

**_‘Who is this woman?’_ **

The picture transactions over the woman hugging a man, sobbing into his shoulder, a hand rubbing her back.

**_‘Is she… me?’_ **

It shows her talking again, yet the words are muted- unhearable, nonexistant,  _ gone. _

The figure twitches.

**_‘No… not me._ ** **_Never_ ** **_me.’_ **

Four bands of liquid gold materialize in front of them within the darkness, a certain glow surrounding them, locking onto their wrists, forming four thick, golden bracelets, two on each hand.

The ears on their head twitch, tail swishing behind them, only to press down, disappearing into their body, tail curling, slipping back into their tailbone.

Instead, two large, brown and cream wings sprout from their back, loose feathers dancing down into the emptiness below them. The wings flap once, stretching side to side, easily measuring their wingspan foot by foot, inch by inch.

**_‘Maybe I am… the man?’_ **

The being pats their chest, then their crotch.

Nope,  _ definitely _ not a male.

Or, rather… not  _ yet _ a male? Don't have female parts either.... perhaps just not yet?

**_‘No, certainly not them either… maybe I’m not a person at all?’_ **

Their wings flap at the thought, stray feathers fluffing up.

**_‘Perhaps… or maybe…’_ **

**_‘...I am the person that is spoken to?’_ **

A smile works its way onto their face as the thought echoes in the darkness, beating in their ears.

**_‘Yes, I must be it!’_ **

**_‘I must be-!’_ **

Suddenly, as if  _ something _ was waiting for that exact moment of clarity, beams of hot, striking white takes over their vision, burning the thought away with a shriek. Within seconds, they know no more.

\---

You awake up- minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks?  _ Months?!- _ sometime later on a gritty textured piece of earth, a sort of itchiness suspending over your body, the bright, yellow- borderline  _ white-  _ sun beaming in your eyes, temporarily blinding you.

Growling, a wing stretches over your eyes, shadowing your face from the sun, allowing you to adjust from the unrelenting darkness to the blinding brightness of day.

“WHOA!”

A small child- ...human? What is a  _ human?- _ wearing a red shirt with a large, yellow star and rolled up… you’re pretty sure they’re called  _ jeans, _ right? His feet are covered by pink… flip flops??? And his black, poofy, curly hair is gleaming in the sunlight, black eyes having large, white stars as its pupils.

“You have WINGS!” He squeals, bouncing on the heels of his feet, “That’s so  _ cool!” _

Blinking again, and carefully making sure your eyes are adjusted to the light, you pull down your wing without using your arm, the appendage folding behind your back as you sit up, “...Thank you.”

The boy grins, holding out a hand, stars still littered in his eyes, “My name’s Steven Universe, mystery wing girl! What’s yours?”

You blink again, head tilted in confusion, before a light bulb in the back of your brain turned on, “O-Oh, hello Steven! I’m…”

Hands clasping, you’re pulled up, stumbling just a tad, though not without a grin on your face, “...No clue.”

“No clue? Is that your name?” He questions, tilting his head in an obviously confused manner. You shake your head silently, and it seems the child then understands, “You don’t have a name?” He wonders, eyes showing confusion and surprise.

No verbal word is uttered, just a shake of the head.

Steven gasps, “We can’t allow that! I’ll just have to give you a name then!” His obvious determination brings a smile to your face, and you nod in understanding, “Okay, I’m going to list off some names, and you tell me which one you like best! We can always change it later on.”

A nod is his only answer.

“Alright, lets see… Goldie?”

A shake.

“Pilot?”

“No.”

“Rio?” Another shake.

“Sterling?”

You frown thoughtfully- you’re  _ brown _ , not  _ grey! _ “Nope!”

“Griffin?”

That allows you to ponder for a moment- it  _ sounds _ cool, but you don’t feel like it's meant for you. So, with that, you shake your head negatively.

“Hedwig?”

Your mind’s eye flashes to a white owl with striking yellow eyes and peppered wings. With a snort, you groan, “Nah.”

Steven huffs, “Well, what about Birdie?”

_ ‘Hm…,’ _ you tap your chin in thought, pondering absently,  _ ‘well, it's certainly simple, and has its own little charm… Eh, I suppose it’ll just have to do for now.’ _

Finally, you nod, accepting the name with grace.

“YES!” The gemling hops around excitedly, “Birdie it is! So Birdie… what are you doing out here by the woods?”

You glance around, seeing you’re on sand, and mere feet away from you are a skyline of trees as far as the eye could see. Turning back to face the male, you shrug helplessly.

“Oh, you don’t know?”

You shake your head.

“Well, that’s okay!” He brightens, grabbing your hand, “We can just ask the gems!”

You don’t even get to mentally question how jewelry is going to help you before you’re being dragged along the beach by an eager- if confusing- Steven Universe, your hand unknowingly clutching onto a duffel bag that had sat next to you.

“Hey, Amethyst!” The child runs up to a short woman with purple skin, untamed white hair, a ripped, baggy mauve tank top, black leggings with cut-out stars, and white boots, who sits by the shore, munching on…  _ something, _ “This is Birdie! She doesn’t know where she is, and I don’t know if she’s a gem or not! Think you can help?”

‘Amethyst’ stares blankly as you step out from behind the smaller male, eyes instantly locking onto your large, striking, tan, brown and cream-colored wings, “Uh… maybe? Better get Garnet for this though…”

“Not Pearl?”

You tilt your head in confusion- why are all these people named after gems? Excluding Steven, of course.

The female only winces, “Ugh, yeah, lets  _ not _ Steven- Pearl would  _ freak _ and more likely attack her than anything else, dude.”

“What?! No way! Pearl would never- oh, hey Pearl!”

“STEVEN! GET AWAY FROM THAT  _ THING _ !”

Quicker than you can process or react, a spear comes flying towards you, striking your left wing, cleaving right through it. The blinding pain (why is it blinding  _ whyisitalwaYSBLINDING?!) _ tears a scream from you as your body falls to the grainy earth with a dull thump, a gory mess of blood and muscle slipping down your feathers, the torn hole as big as your fist.

It stains pink once it hits the soft, white sand.

Steven whirls around, facing you, and drops to his knees, “Oh no, Birdie! Let me see your wound!”

Pulling at the wing, it shakily opens and he covers his mouth with his hand, eyes unseeing, “Oh… oh stars. Amethyst! She’s bleeding, really badly!” He cries, but who greets him is not Amethyst, but the leader of the Crystal Gems herself; Garnet.

Silently, she skims your wing with her finger, frowning thoughtfully, when you flinch and whimper in fear, pain overriding your senses.

Carefully, she slides her right hand under your stomach, sitting you up on your knees, and hefts you up with the other, carrying you by your middle, taking extra care to not touch your wing.

“Let’s heal her up,” Garnet advised, standing to her full height of 6’3”, “come on Steven.”

“R-Right!” Scrambling to his feet, the child rushes after Garnet, passing the arguing gem duo consisting of Amethyst and Pearl. Glancing up at his caretaker, Steven frowns, tone quiet and pathetic, “Will… will she be okay?”

“...”

“...Garnet?”

“...I don’t know,” she admits, stepping inside the household, “She’s obviously not a gem, but I don’t know if she’s entirely human either- though,” unnoticed, her eyes travel to the gaping wound, “she’s  _ definitely _ an organic, that’s for sure.”

You are then laid out on the couch, face first, and upon checking your vitals-  _ ‘Relatively slow heartbeat,’ _ the fusion notes, staring at you in surprise,  _ ‘yet… she’s still regulating blood as if she’s in tip-top shape? Strange…’ _ \- she pulls out Pearl’s sewing kit, as well as the house’s own first aid, and begins to slowly clean out the wound.

The Ruby in her shivers in disgust at the pulsing muscles, while the part that was Sapphire only stared in amazement at this  _ entirely _ brand new being.

It never shows in  _ any _ of her possible visions- not  _ one _ . This was an entirely brand new experience of the highest caliber.

And Garnet, at her core, found that both terrified and thrilled her.

**_-Third POV-_ **

After a few minutes of disinfecting the wound, the fusion works on bandaging the wing, Steven watching her work silently, and even helps her make a splint for said wing, so that ‘Birdie’- as Garnet learned that she was called (even if it was just what Steven called her)- doesn’t accidentally hurt her poor wing even more.

Once properly bandaged, and splint set in place, Garnet sits down on the ledge above the couch, staring down at the sleeping child.

“Will she… will she be okay?” Steven wonders, sitting beside his caretaker. 

“...She’ll be fine,” The gem admits, fixing her glasses, “I can tell.”

“...You sure?”

A nod, “Positive.”

Seeing as Garnet has never really led him astray, Steven huffs a sigh of relief, his hand over his heart, “Oh thank the stars! I thought she’d be… well, ‘ya know!”

Humming, the gem watches ‘Birdie’ ( _ ‘Strange name,’ _ the Ruby in her states, confusion ringing through the fusion like a symphony of bells) rest, noting that her once pained expression has since morphed into something more akin to peace, with a few winces here or there.

Her various eyes wander about, until they lock onto the grey duffel bag she saw Birdie carrying before she was taken down by Pearl. Something in her conjurned mind  _ clicks _ .

“Steven,” Garnet stands to attention, eyes narrowing, “I want you to keep watching Birdie while I go through her bag, okay? I just need to make sure she doesn’t have anything dangerous on her.”

He’s silent, and she takes that as his confirmation.

The fusion plucks the bag off the ground and sets it on her lap, zipping it open and taking out various items.

The first item of true notice is, ironically enough, an ID of sorts, the black letters spelling “(Y/n) (L/n)” in liquid, paste on ink, a photo of the girl (in a different outfit, and no wings? “It's obviously her,” the Sapphire sighs, staring at the photo, “but there’s something  _ different _ to her here. Perhaps we just cannot see them due to it being a headshot?” The Ruby hums within their connection, “Maybe...”) with noticeably less colors in her hair (which was relatively the same, and obviously her natural color, with a few confusing strands of pastel pink and yellow strands) and tired, dead eyes.

The next was a wallet with fourteen bills inside, and upon counting them, Garnet is certainly, undeniably confused, muttering lowly, “Where did a kid like this get three hundred dollars from?”

Third was a wooden box with steel groves, the bottom spelling “Treasures” engraved into oak in elegant lettering. She clicks the clasp and opens the box, scanning the various treasures, making sure to memorize each one.

A few scatterings of pearls (not like  _ Pearl  _ pearl _ , _ but the kind found in the ocean that doesn’t have a conscious. It's just the gem without the soul), a pearl string, three large pearls (these ones were pretty large, all things considered. Not as large as the Crystal Gems’, but still), two semi-small golden… orbs? Had to be, with a larger one about the size of the large pearls, if a tad bigger- two lockets, a crown of some sort, three rings, four pairs of earrings, a beautiful hairpin, and various, somewhat dirty, silver and copper coins.

Overall, it was a nice collection- that much Garnet would admit. The young child could get quite the sum of money if she sold these to a good jeweler, but that’s for Birdie- or, rather,  _ (Y/n)- _ to decide for herself.

Some of the other items were a basic first aid kid, three containers carrying food, a handheld phone, a box of matches, a flashlight, three shirts, two pairs of shorts, a pair of jeans, a jacket, a sleeping bag, charger, packet of pens, notebook, toothbrush, sunglasses and earbuds. There’s also a knife, but it's a _ pocket knife,  _ and obviously less for stabbing and more for carving.

Garnet studies the accounted objects again, “The perfect equipment for running away…” she muses, eyes narrow behind her glasses.

_ “Did she have an abusive home?!” _ Ruby gasps, flailing about in her and Sapphire’s shared mindscape,  _ “Oh god, did Pearl just traumatize the kid even more than before?” _

_ “Do you want an probable answer, or the one that’ll make you feel better?” _

She’s silent,  _ “...Both?” _

_ “The answer you want: No, she’s fine, just lost. The probable true answer? She ran away, or was abandoned, and yes, Pearl probably did just traumatize her horribly.” _

The fusion covers her mouth, feeling sick, “Oh no…”

Moving the stand, she freezes upon feeling something cold and mechanical at her fingertips. Glancing at it, Garnet’s brows furrow at the red device-  _ ‘That wasn’t there before, was it?’ _

Picking it up, she messes around with some of the outer buttons until one against its side is pushed, the front popping open like a laptop.

However, she almost drops it when it fucking  _ speaks. _

**“Greetings!”** It chirps, a neutral (she couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be feminine or masucline- it sort of sounded like both) voice echoing from its speakers, catching both her and Steven’s attention,  **“I am Technical Evolution Care unit! Though, you can just call me Tec! I was made to help (Y/n) (L/n) on her journey!”**

Steven blinks, “What journey?”

**“That’s for her to decide!”** It responds cheerfully,  **“Are you a friend of hers?”**

He blinks again at the question, “Uh… yeah, I guess. I’m Steven Universe… the one holding you is Garnet.”

The fusion, seeing as the voice might have an actual  _ conscience _ , moves towards Steven, sitting beside him on the couch, not far from the child herself.

A pixelated person, with short hair, a T-shirt and jacket, and gloves, appears on the green and white screen, waving at the two gems,  **“It's a pleasure to meet you, Steven Universe and Garnet! Names added to user’s friend database- how fun! Now, can I help you with something?”**

“Who is (Y/n)?” Garnet strictly questions, eyeing the machine.

**“I’m sorry, that information is not available.”** The avatar smiles sadly.

“Where is she from?   
  


**“Information redacted.”**

“Where is her family?”

**“Redacted.”**

“How did she get in Beach City?”

**“Redacted.”**

Garnet groans in frustration, pulling off her glasses and rubbing at her temples, “ _ Fine. _ Then  _ what _ is she?”

This time, the avatar grins,  **“Now** **_that’s_ ** **a question I can answer!”** A hologram of the girl is shown,  **“(Y/n) (L/n) is a type of Shapeshifter, with DNA from both Ditto and Mew- two very rare and powerful creatures. With this DNA-”** the hologram shifts, showing the girl with scythes for hands and insectoid wings,  **“-she can withhold any form within our databases!”**

A long silence stretches over the room.

“...Is she  _ partially _ human?” Steven quietly asks, curling in on himself, frowning.

‘Tec’ gasps,  **“Oh! Something was lost in the translation, apologies. Steven Universe, (Y/n)** **_is_ ** **human- or, at least, half human!”** She quickly ratifies, waving a pixelated hand,  **“The DNA just allows her to gain new features, like wings, ears, tails, and claws, or into real animals using those same features, while unlocking special abilities based on that form for attacks for battle! The higher her “level”, the more attacks she can learn and use. Think of it like... an RPG!”**

He perks up at that, “So… it's like when the character levels up, they only have a few skills, but gain more and more when they grow stronger?”

A large check mark appears on screen,  **“Correct!”**

“Oh,” he uncurls, stars forming in his eyes at the idea, “That’s so cool!”

“Is she a threat?” Garnet wonders, staring at the machine again, tensed.

**“As long as she considers someone ‘a friend’? No. Only when she or those she cares about are in danger will she attack. Or, at least, that was the idea** **_instilled…._ ** **”**

“Idea  _ instilled? _ ” She questions, eyes sharpening.

**“Uh… oops?”** The screen snaps shut, deactivating, and under no circumstance could Garnet get it to activate again.

“So…” Steven kicks his legs back and forth, “does that mean we can keep Birdie?”

“Her name is (Y/n), Steven,” the fusion sighs, and the boy huffs in annoyance, “Duh! I know that! I just like Birdie better!”

Well, Steven’s a pretty stubborn kid, and it isn’t likely that he’s going to change his mind.

“But… about her staying,” various eyes roam towards the still figure on the couch, “...I  _ suppose _ having another capable fighter around wouldn’t be such a bad idea…”

Seeing how Steven grinned, like she’d given him the entire world on a silver platter, Garnet knew she made the right choice- now she only had to tell Pearl and Amethyst the news.

…

Yeah, she’s not looking forward to this.

\---


	2. Spread my wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Reader discovers she can fly, moves in, and talks with Garnet!
> 
> And by talk, I mean fight.
> 
> Because that's just kinda what Garnet does.

**[Two Months Later]**

Two months seemingly passed in the blink of an eye, and you quickly befriended Steven and Garnet (much to the gem’s internal confusion- she saw no reason to be as close to the shapeshifter as she was, and yet here she is), and often chat with Amethyst should the other two be gone.

Though, unsurprisingly, you don’t like Pearl.

Actually, scratch that- you  _ hate _ Pearl with a fiery passion. And, to no one’s surprise, the feeling was returned tenfold, the two of you often glaring at each other whenever your attention isn’t on someone or thing else.

Thankfully, your wing was  _ finally _ healed, just the week before, so you’ve been able to go out and explore when not holed up in your room (which was made when Garnet had punched the wall inside the temple by accident, caving it in, and kinda just expanded on that, made sure the inner walls were grooved like sandstone, put in a twin (aka: a 38” x 75”) bed, a rectangular window, oak dresser, and then smacked a door as the entrance and BOOM! Room finished) without any sort of entertainment.

Which is why, at the first chance given, you left the temple, one pearl and wallet in hand, and sold your regular-sized pearl to a jeweler on the edge of town, being given two thousand cash back, which was stuffed in your wallet and off you went towards a thrift store, meeting Steven and his father, Greg Universe, along the way.

They helped you buy a CRT tv, nightstand, mirror, pillows, an alarm clock, radio, blankets, and two lamps. It took you from $2’300 dollars to $1’800, but that’s fine, you needed these anyway since you’ll be living with the gems until another location can provide for you.

So, while you have your own little living space to come home to, you still love to be outside.

_ Especially _ when you’re outside and in the  _ air- _ flying high and free, testing out your powers one by one.

Flying, or even just using your wings for meager tasks, came to you naturally, strangely enough. Using them just felt  _ right- _ natural.

And when you’re in the air, flying above the salt water, up to the clouds and freefalling, you feel that nothing can hurt you!   
  


Not the humans, not the gems, and  _ definitely _ not any sort of  _ monster. _

It was wonderful- freeing, one would say.

You loved it.

As for your “attacks”- Tec called them “moves”, but whatever- you currently had six.

There was Tackle- just as the name says, you had to tackle something, but there’s some pretty extreme force behind it at times. Especially if you’re rocketing through the air and  _ then _ slam into the person or object- you’ll send them flying, with broken bones, or in literal pieces.

Though, you get a headache if you do this a lot, so you try not too.

Next is Sand Attack- you just flap your wings and get sand in your opponent’s eye. Sure, it's a pretty stingy and dirty move, but it has its uses, especially in a fight. Being able to blind someone, even momentarily, is great for either knocking them out, or making a quick getaway.

Third is Gust- you flap your wings hard or fast enough, and a gust of wind will carry your opponent away, hitting them with enough force to momentarily stun them and carry them off their feet by at least a few feet, or meters- depends on how strong the gust is and how much the person weighs.

Fourth is Mirror Move, in which you take the last attack you saw from your opponent and throw it back at them with half of the power- hence the name, “Mirror Move”.

Your fifth attack is Reflect, in which you summon a wall of light that reduces any physical damage done for five minutes by half. Truthfully, you thought this was an insanely useful attack- or was it defensive? You don’t fucking know at this point- to use during fights.

Last, but certainly not least, is Swift, which sends a barrage of star-shaped rays at your target. And not a barrage of, say, five or ten- no, you’re talking barrages of at  _ least _ twenty. And the greatest feature of this little attack, especially in a fight?

It  _ never _ misses.

Sure, one can deflect or destroy them, but they’ll always hone in on a target based on whose your enemy at the time being.

Overall, a pretty solid moveset- at least, that’s what Tec told you.

And Steven, but Steven thinks  _ anything _ ‘not human’ is awesome, so he’s not the best to go too for things like this.

Still, the genuine praise is a nice change of pace every once in a while.

Currently, you’re flying just over the ocean, spitting up the saltwater while you rocket over the sea, doing flips and twirls every few minutes to air in some extra flare, knowing that Steven’s watching from the shore.

Why are you doing this?   
  


Well, you’re still new to using your wings, so you can’t go as fast as a regular bird can- which is about twenty to thirty miles an hour, easily. You, on the other hand, can only go about five miles an hour, which is really sad now that you think about it, especially since the average human can go anywhere from eleven to twenty-two miles an hour on average.

Sure, you’re fast by  _ human _ standards for a mere tiny, weak  _ child _ , but by those of the animal kingdom,  _ regular _ humans, or gemkind?

You’re slow as  _ hell _ .

So, over the past two hours, you’ve been trying to change that, wearing a device around your neck that tells you your speed.

“That was awesome Birdie!” Steven crows from the shore as you approach, wings flapping while you gently set yourself on the beach, “Those flips were wicked! How fast were you going by the way?”

You check the device and frown thoughtfully.

“Seven miles an hour,” you groan, dropping the device, which flings back and forth due to the momentum, “still sucks, but better than before I guess.”

“Yeah!” The hybrid hops up onto his feet, grinning, “Baby steps!”

You smile, “Yeah… baby steps. After all, gotta learn to crawl before you can run, right?”

He nods, bright as sunshine, “Yep!”

“(Y/n),” a strict, stoic voice calls out, and your keen eyes snap in the direction where it came from- across the beach, standing proud and tall, was Garnet; leader of the Crystal Gems. “Come with me.”

“M’kay!” You turn towards Steven, smile wary with guilt, “Sorry about not being able to hang out today like I promised,” you mutter, crossing your arms, “I’ll make it up to you.”

The gem smiles, “I’ll hold you to it! Now get to Garnet, she’s kinda impatient when she wants something,” he ‘whispers’, smile turning semi-smug, especially when the fusion snaps her head towards him, frowning. He quickly bolts towards the carwash, waving, “BYE BIRDIE, SEE YOU TOMORROW!”

Shaking your head in amusement, you flap your wings, bringing you towards the resting gem, “Yo, Garnet,” you greet midair, doing flips, “what’s up?”

“You’re coming to train with me.”

Wow, okay uh….

“Do… I get a choice to do this or not?” You question, eyes narrowing in thought.

“Your choice was made when I allowed you to stay here.”

Ah.

Well, she’s got you there.

“...Fine, whatever,” you huff, plopping down on the heels of your feet, your shoe and sockless feet pushing into the grains of sand, the texture strange against your soft skin, “what’re we doing?”

Garnet gestures you to follow, and you do just that, heading towards the warp pad (thinking about it, this would be your first time using it- weird), “I want to test out your attacks.” She calmly answers, crossing her arms, “If I’m honest, I have no clue what you can do, and I’d rather not take the chance that something happens and you’re entirely defenseless because you don’t know how to use your powers.”

You blink in surprise, “How do you even  _ know _ this?”

“I found Tec.”

“Ah,” yeah, that was a pretty valid answer, all things considered. “So… what will we be doing, besides just testing?”

“You’re going to learn how to use, strengthen, and weaken your power-  _ that’s _ what.”

_ ‘Dammit,’ _ you sigh, running a hand through your hair as the two of you are beamed up to a crumbling, old arena, “Fine. What do you want to start with?”

Garnet glances towards you, “What are your attacks? And give a basic description with each.”

Well, she’s the boss…

You hold up a hand, “Well, there’s Tackle,” you shrug at her bewildered stare, “don’t ask me, I didn’t name it! Anyway, I tackle someone with extreme force- that’s… yeah, that’s pretty much it. Though…” you rub the back of your neck sheepishly, cheeks flushing, “I tend to get a headache if I… use it too much. Tec says there’s a stronger version, but that it has ‘recoil’, whatever  _ that _ is.”

“Recoil is when you get injured by using something, like using a string and pulling it back too far, making it snap forward then back, hitting you in the face.  _ That’s _ recoil.” She fixes her glasses, a stoic expression taking over her face.

Not that there was much expression before- you’re just  _ really _ good at reading people based on their body language, or even just how they twitch.

“So in other words… it's a double edged sword?”

“Correct.”

“Sounds stupid,” you deadpan, hands on your hips.

The gem only shrugs, “It can be. Now, next move.”

“Whatever,” you roll your eyes, “next is Sand Attack. It's literally as the name says- I throw or gust sand into my opponent’s face and eyes. Turns out, blinding someone fucks up their basic depth perception; who knew?”

Flapping your wings, you kick up a small cloud of dust and sand for your demonstration, “Easy, though pretty useless without someone to fight. And if they wear glasses or goggles,” you mess with your own sitting atop your head, fixing them, “its even  _ more _ useless.”

“Good for a fight though,” Garnet notes, hands on her hips.

“It is,” you admit quietly, “moving on, third is Gust. I just… kinda flap my wings and boom! Gust of air!” Arms flail in demonstration, “The stronger the gust of wind, the more likely I can send someone flying! Though, I can only move Steven by a few feet,” you pout at the thought of your own meager strength. Despite that, you continue, “Mirror Move is fourth, and probably my second best attack right now. It's pretty much a ‘no you’ sort of attack- if someone punches me, I can cast Mirror Move and punch them back with half of the power. Tec says it gets stronger the more I use it, but I dunno…”

“If I were to punch you, and you use that as a defensive measure, you could easily kill a human,” the leader states blandly, “you just need the right motivation to make it more powerful.”

“I almost wanna bring up the fact you just  _ casually _ mentioned murder, but whatever I guess.” You don’t really know how to feel upon that single sentence, but it doesn’t seem to matter in the long run you suppose, so its quickly dropped.

“Fifth is Reflect,” here, you actually demonstrate, summoning a wall of light, the shade similar to that of bubblegum, about as tall as Pearl and as wide as Steven, “this is actually the easiest power to use so far, and my best defensive ability!” A smile works its way onto your face at the astounded stare of Garnet, “I can change the shape to an actual wall, or a bubble shape- though, the bubble is weaker by far…. Anyway! It seems to reduce any physical damage done to me by fifty percent for five minutes! Pretty cool, right?!”

She nods, “It's just like Rose’s shield but… hers worked indefinitely,” she mused, staring at the screen wall that’s texture seemed akin to that of glass, “good work.”

You grin, pulling away from the shield, watching it shatter into little pink shards, then fade away. As the final nail in the coffin, you fling out your right hand, a golden glow coming from the bracelets around your wrists, as dozens of stars as much as your head come rocketing into existence, slamming into a lone pillar, crumbling half of it.

“That’s Swift,” you explain plainly, grinning, “my most powerful move by far. It sends a barrage of stars towards my opponent, and  _ always _ hits, no matter what. It's pretty much a homing attack- useful for an evasive enemy, don’t ‘cha think?”

“...It's quite destructive-”

You grin.

“-but it lacks finesse.”

Its quickly wiped off, anger bubbling in the pit of your stomach, “ _ What?” _

“It has no real focus,” she sighs, “and thus, much of the power is lost. So…” her hands glow, and on a flash of red two red and black gauntlets sit on her palms, body positioning to strike, “...you’re going to face  _ me.” _

You blink, and laugh, “Oh my gosh, Garnet! That has to be the funniest- WHOA!” You quickly duck under the right hook shot at you, “GARNET! WHAT THE  _ FUCK?!” _

“You’re going to learn to fight,” glasses shine ominously in the sunlight, “the  _ real _ way.”

Your skin pales drastically, “Oh dear god no-!”

The female alien rockets towards you, and you quickly throw up Reflect to protect yourself, the weight of her attack already cracking its pink surface.

There’s a short struggle of trying to push her away, but it quickly proves futile when her other fist slams into the wall again, this time breaking through your defenses entirely, slamming the full weight of her fist into your face.

In an instant, you’re sailing through the air, blood trailing from your noise in a gruesome display. Quickly regaining your wits, you flap your wings and flip, steadying yourself enough through the wind currents to land on the ground on your own two feet. Your eyes snap towards the figure rushing towards you, and with a mighty of your wings, release a Gust attack.

It barely did anything, but it  _ did _ buy you a few seconds- enough for you to shoot a barrage of shooting stars, hoping to defeat her.

But this is a gem who’s fought in the Great Gem War- one that’s lasted over a thousand years- and quickly stars smacking the stars, turning them to yellow, sparkling dust.

Garnet turns her head towards you, frowning, “Is that the best you got?”

In a way- yeah, that  _ is _ the best you got. But… what about combo attacks?

You grin slyly, to her own surprise, “Nope!” and burst into action, flying high into the sky with a clap of your wings, only to then turn and rush towards Garnet, activating Tackle to gain some extra velocity. You start spinning, much akin to that of a drill, and summon a small, condensed ring of stars around you, turning into a golden halo due to your intense speed.

She raises her hands, and you slam into them, coming to a sudden stop.

And that stop may have stopped  _ you _ , but it certainly didn’t stop Swift from its continuing whirl, smashing into the chest of the gem with enough force that she dropped you, and was pushed back a good ten feet.

However, now you’re dizzy, and Garnet can only be held off for a few seconds before rushing back towards you, going for your gut.

To minimize the damage, you shakily activate Reflect again, and throw Mirror Move overtop of it.

And thank  _ god _ that you did, because even with reflect active, getting punched with enough force to be sent flying into a pillar fucking  _ hurt. _

All praise hallelujah for the fifty percent deduction on all attacks done by enemies from reflect- if it wasn’t for that, you would  _ probably _ be dead right about now.

As it is, you’re pretty sure that Garnet just about shattered your nose.

Shakily standing, you heave a sigh of relief upon seeing the gem clutch her midsection in pain, “All hail Mirror Move, you glorious bitch,” you mutter, clutching your own stomach.

While the damage was only half, she’s still getting as much pain as you are from that hit, due to reflect taking half of the damage by itself.

“Sucks that it can break though,” you mumble softly, quivering wings spreading open and lifting you off the ground, barely hovering, and float towards the tall feminine alien, “Garnet, are we done now? Can we go home?”

Sighing, she stands at her full height, still towering over you, even now.

“Yes,” she breathes, rubbing her stomach gently, “we’re done here. Let's go-”

**“Four levels earned!”** Tec beeps from your pocket, its green light flashing,  **“Pokedex features: Inventory, Move Learner, AbilityDex, Moveset, Species Encyclopedia, Notepad, HP Monitor, Item Encyclopedia, ShiftDex, and Potion Recipe Creator uploaded! Move: Quick Attack downloaded to base form!”**

You pull out the device, popping it open, eyes showing obvious confusion, grumbling, “Hey Tec, what the hell dude?”

**“Oh, (Y/n)!”** The avatar’s pixelated face pops up on screen,  **“Pleasure to see you again! What’s the issue?”**

“The issue?” You scowl, “The  _ issue? _ Tec, what the hell was all that mumbo jumbo about just now?!”

**“Oh,** ** _that.”_** Dark green pixels dot along their cheeks, **“That is the Pokedex finally activating its proven code! Congrats! Want a rundown on what this is?”**

“I certainly would,” Garnet agrees, crossing her arms over her chest, leaning over your shoulder.

**“Alright then, but you two might wanna sit down- this’ll be a bit long,”** you both glance at one another, baffled, but do as the artificial intelligence says.

It claps its hands together, excited,  **“Wonderful! Now, the Pokedex is essentially a tool used to collect data on Pokemon- which is what you can turn into! Except, you’re like a gijinka version of them…”**

The two of you only stare silently.

**“...It means you’re in the human form of these creatures.”** They deadpan.

“Oh,” you blush in embarrassment.

**“Now, you can actually do many things with this! So, I’ll start from the top.”** A twenty by twenty grid appears on screen,  **“This is your Inventory! You can store stuff in here by scanning the physical item! Its kinda like Gem Storage, but bigger. You have a total of eight hundred slots, but the items, if they’re the same thing, stack. Total is nine hundred ninety-nine,”** it shows a visual representation of this,  **“anyway, you already have some stuff in here! Ten Potions, twenty Super Potions, five Rare Candies, a single Fire Stone, five Antidotes, two Awakenings, two Burn Heals, two Paralyze Heals, a Water Stone, and 30 Seeds for each Berry type, wow!”**

“And pray tell, what do these do?” Garnet wonders aloud, questioning the AI.

It seemingly gasps,  **“Oh, that's right, I haven’t explained that! So, these are items that are pretty important. Potions, both regular and super, heal those that they’re used on! A regular potion, if used on a human with a gash on their, lets say, leg, just spray or dump the contents of the bottle on it and boom! Good as new! Super Potions are the same, just better quality.”**

Garnet hums, thinking back to Rose’s own healing ability- having such items might be useful in the long run. Maybe not for the gems, but certainly for (Y/n) and Steven.

**“Rare Candies raise your “level”- that’ll be touched on later, by the way. Fire and Water stones allow evolution- again, touched upon later- and antidotes, awakenings, burn, and paralyze heals are, well, for healing! Antidotes cure all poisons, awakenings wake someone up, be it a light sleep or even coma, burn heals heal, well,** **_burns_ ** **of first and second degree and paralyze heals allow the user to heal those that are paralyze- not their limbs or anything, but it they were shocked really badly and couldn’t move, and someone used this, they’d be fine.”**

You blink, “And the berries?”

**“Those make the potions!”** Tec chirps excitedly,  **“So if you ever run out, you can make more! Though, you gotta plant them first… anyway, the fruit are valuable, and have a lot of flavor, some more than others, all of which are based around the five great flavors; sour, sweet, dry, bitter, and spicy! Oran berries, for example, are very bitter, but are often used for ointments and potions due to their healing properties! Understand?”**

You both silently nod.

**“Wonderful! Move Learner allows you to learn more attacks, though you can learn more naturally too, not always, but mostly. AbilityDex shows your current and hidden abilities, and all other possible abilities for different forms- you can check that more in depth later-, Moveset is your current form’s moveset, as well as an in depth description of them and what they can do. Species Encyclopedia is the main and most prominent Pokedex function! It teaches you about your species, their habits and whereabouts, as well as a lot of other in depth information. It also tells you about their evolutions, isn’t that cool?”**

The gem perks up in interest, “Evolutions?”

**“New forms, while still being the same you! You grow bigger and stronger with each one, and most can only evolve a total of two times, three with Mega Evolution, if you’re lucky. Evolution is based around experience and levels- the rarer the form, the more levels needed to evolve! (Y/n) is currently “level” fourteen,”** they show a picture of you beside a small, cute little brown and tan bird,  **“and they evolve into Pidgeotto-”** they show another picture, this time of a much larger bird (over  _ five times _ the size of the previous one), that replaces the previous one beside your own photo,  **“-at “level” eighteen.”**

“So…” you lick your lips, “its all about experience and mastery of my current form?”

Tec pops back up on the screen, smiling,  **“Yep! That’s pretty much the gist of it!”**

**“Moving on, Item Encyclopedia is just… Species, but with items instead. Notepad is for recording thoughts, HP Monitor manages to watch your “health”. When you hit “zero”, you don’t die like in video games, but instead faint- pass out, I guess is the correct word. You can still die, but not from your "HP" falling too low.”**

“Seems simple enough,” Garnet muses aloud, and you nod in agreement.

**“It is,”** they shrug,  **“Potion Recipe Creator teaches you the recipes used to make potions, like the ones in your inventory. When you master the management of one type, you get another! Kinda like learning a new language, but different.”**

“What about ShiftDex, or that “Move Learnt” thing?” You wonder, kicking your legs back and forth.

**“Oh, those?”** They wave their hand,  **“ShiftDex shows you what you can currently shapeshift into- but you gotta earn them! Currently, you don’t have anything other than “Pidgey”- that’s the Pokemon species you are right now- so it's kinda useless at the moment. And the “Move Learnt” is something you get when you reach a new ‘level’ and have access to another attack! Which is Quick Attack… and yeah, that’s about it. You can mess around with all of this later, I’m tired of explaining.”**

The screen shuts off, to your annoyance, “Wait-! Dammit Tec!”

Garnet sets a hand on your shoulder, shaking her head, an amused smile playing upon her lips, lightly pushing you towards the warp pad, “Calm down (Y/n), lets just go home.”

Eyes narrow and twitch in annoyance, a pout rise on your lips as you pocket the device, “Fine, whatever,” you grumble, crossing your arms childishly, stomping towards the crystal pad, to the overwhelming amusement of your caretaker, “lets just go so I can go hang out with Steven!”

She smiles gently, moving to stand atop the warp pad, and snaps her finger, activating the pad, warping both of you back to the temple. Your eyes snap to the tall figure standing beside you, feathers fluffing up in aggression, “Also,  _ never _ do that to me again.”

A smug smile flashes across her face, glasses glinting, “No promises.”

“I fucking hate you sometimes…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garent: hey i just wanna talk
> 
> Reader: mhmm sounds fake but okay
> 
> Eifie uh wow i,,, did not know how to write this chapter??? Like,,, at all?? Oh the fuck well I guess :/


	3. First Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader finds that fighting is one of her fortes. And she wins, with a little surprise.

"Garnet, are you  _ sure _ you want to bring  _ her _ on this mission?” Pearl chatters nervously, shooting glares at you between every sentence, those glares burning even hotter when she sees you grinning smugly, “It’ll be dangerous! Lets just take her back to Beach City!”

“This isn’t going to be a hard gem to capture, Pearl,” the straight answer smacks Pearl like a wet cod, “it's just a corrupted Peridot- nothing more, nothing less. Besides, this is her test to see if she can join the Crystal Gems or not, now calm down.”

Your smug grin widens at Garnet’s admission.

It's been a week since you battled Garnet, and while you haven’t achieved “evolution” yet, you have been quickly mastering your current moveset, even adding two new moves to your set!

Quick Attack allows you to enhance your speed, making it so that not only does your body move faster, but you perceive time at a quicker rate, making everything else seem slow. With it, you’re nothing but a blur of brown, tan, and red. Almost  _ always, _ you’re going to hit your opponent first due to your speed, and adding Tackle onto adds quite the hit.

Not enough to poof, but definitely enough to throw Garnet back a good few feet- at this point, you’ll take anything you can get.

Wing Attack, however, is something to have to be flying to use- a bit annoying, but you’re usually at least floating, so it doesn’t really matter in the long run. Anyway, power is stored inside your wings, and when the attack is being powered up, they glow white. All you have to do then is hit your enemy with your wing- and you’ve seen it do some  _ serious _ damage.

Like,  _ cracked a pillar _ kind of damage.

If you’re honest, you think you need more training, but if Garnet says otherwise- well, she’s the boss!

“Yeah, go (Y/n)!” Amethyst cheers, slinging an arm over your shoulders, leaving you to chuckle and pat her hand in appreciation, “Thanks Ame, appreciate that at least  _ someone _ thinks that Garnet’s making the right decision,” a subtle glare is shot at Pearl’s back.

She stiffens, clenching her hands and then releasing them.

_ ‘Ah,’ _ you smile,  _ ‘the stress is slowly catching up.’ _

What  _ exact _ stress, per say, you don’t know- but you can tell part of its from you.

“So,” you rush towards Garnet, trailing after her, long strides leaving you to lightly jog, “do you know what this gem looks like already? Do you have an idea on its habitat?”

“Gems don’t have  _ habitats,” _ Pearl hisses, eyes boring into you, “we’re not  _ animals!” _

“That’s right, you’re not,” you nod grimly, “you’re gay space rocks from outerspace that was originally sent her to colonize the planet due to the Diamonds. Did I get that right?”

Amethyst heaves a belly rumbling laugh, hiccuping as the slender, bird-faced gem flushes blue, sputtering, “Gay space-?! HOW  _ DARE _ YOU?!”

You smile, “I dare just fine, thank you very much!”

“We are  _ not _ gay space rocks!” She argues, glaring down at you with brightened cheeks.

“And yet, we have a literal lesbian unit leading us, and you had a crush on Steven’s mom.”

Amethyst hasn’t halted in her laughter so far, and your newest comeback has her wheezing with laughter, holding her stomach as she leans back, laughter echoing off the forest walls, “AHAHAHAHA! She got  _ you _ Pearl!”

“How did you-?! UGH!” The slender gem stomps ahead, steam wafting around her in clouds, huffing and puffing like Puff the magic motherfucking dragon.

Cheerfully smirking at a job well done- and willfully ignoring the disappointed stare that Garnet shot her from behind her visor- the female drops back beside Amethyst, arms crossed gleefully, “I take it you found that funny?” You muse, hands on your hips.

She wipes her eye of any tears, grinning impishly, “Oh yeah, that was just  _ hysterical! _ How’d you even know that Garnet was a fusion though?”

“Heard you guys talking about fusion one day, and asked Garnet about it. She said a fusion is two or more gems mixed together and, well, she  _ does _ have two gems on her hands,” you shrug placidly, “kinda easy to put the pieces together once you’re that far.”

She grins, clasping her hands behind her head, “Wow, you’re definitely smarter than Steven if you’ve figured that out within months of living with us!”

You hum and shake your head, “Nah, definitely not. Steven doesn’t  _ have _ any pieces to put together because you guys haven’t told him anything- plus, he’s still a kid, so he wouldn’t be able to know much anyway.”

“But…” purple hands point at you, “ _ you’re _ a kid.”

“Yeah, but I’m older; plus, I actively hang out with Garnet so…  _ yeah, _ ” you trail off, rubbing the back of your neck sheepishly, frowning thoughtfully, “besides, Steven’s really smart when he puts his mind to it! Good deduction skills! He just doesn’t use them often.”

“And you’ve  _ seen _ these “deduction skills” before?” Amethyst questions, air quoting “deduction skills”, “Sorry to say, but I don’t believe it for a  _ second.” _

You shrug helplessly, “Your loss if you don’t see it- or maybe you don’t know Steven like I do,” you reply, arms crossed, ignoring the furious flush appearing on the gem’s face.

“ _ Excuse me?” _ What was once a playful tone turns absolutely  _ frigid, _ “Are you saying you know  _ Steven _ better than  _ I _ do?”

You smile, smug energy radiating from you like a beacon.

“No shit sherlock, what was your first clue?”

“And,  _ pray tell, _ how would you know him better than  _ me?” _ She hisses, reaching for her gem, a white glow dancing off the edges, “He’s lived with us- with  _ me!- _ for  _ years!” _

“I  _ know _ ,” you begin, staring at her from the corner of your eyes, feathers fluffing, “because  _ Steven _ tells me things.”

The grip on your sleeves tightens.

“I  _ know _ , because I look at things from  _ his _ perspective- not that of a gem, or even a human- but a hybrid. Something  _ you _ wouldn’t  _ understand _ .”

Eyes slit in rage, staring you down with the ferocity of a puma stalking their prey.

Your head tilts, “ _ That’s _ how I know him better; because I’m not human, or a gem. I’m a  _ hybrid, _ and as far as anyone else knows, me and him are the only ones in the galaxy.”

A long silence stretches over both of you, the pressure absolutely  _ crushing _ with its weight. You almost want to apologize, but this is something the gems need to understand. They don’t know Steven as well as they think they do- save Garnet, because she’s been spending a lot more one on one time with Steven thanks to you- and only see him as some unobservant, naive  _ child. _

Which, admittedly, he is at times- quite a lot, actually.

But you’ve seen the strategic side of him, the kind and compassionate gem, the  _ leader. _ And you  _ understand _ that there’s more bubbling beneath the surface than what the gems see.

Than what they  _ could- _ no,  _ would _ _ - _ see.

Steven let down all his walls around you, and you saw that naive version of him just as much as the maternalistic and compassionate side.

You’re a constant in his life as of late, and he regales a lot of tales to you, so you tend to pick up on a lot of things he does that aren't really noticed by gems due to their inhumane nature.

The way he shifts his feet when telling a lie (‘ya know, when it's actually  _ believable) _ , hands stuffed in his pockets when even the slightest bit genuinely upset, or even when he flails about, gesturing wildly with his hands when talking about things like Cookie Cat, or his dad, or some of the things the Gems do daily.

When he’s lonely, his eyes will dim to mere shadowed coals, and once said in passing that he would sometimes curl up on his bed and just  _ wait _ for the gems.

He wouldn’t eat, read, use the bathroom, or really…  _ anything. _

Just sit there and  _ wait _ silently on his bed.

You actually saw it happen once, when the gems left for a several hour mission about a month prior, and had to make the boy realize that you were still  _ there. _ That he wasn’t  _ alone _ anymore.

That he could  _ talk _ to you.

In the time you’ve been living with the gems, he hasn’t done it since, but when you get home, you should probably make sure that he doesn’t do that  _ ever _ again.

Actually, now that you think about it, you kinda left without warning…

_ ‘Goddammit,’ _ you rub your temples, guilt bubbling away in your stomach,  _ ‘I’ll take him out for lunch and apologize when I get home. Maybe I can even help him train his powers- the younger the better, right?’ _

Even if he can’t go on missions, it might be a good idea to at least learn how to summon Rose’s shield (apparently she had a sword too, from what Garnet told you when you asked about the woman in the painting above the doorway, but they have no idea where it is, and Pearl’s too overprotective to let Steven even  _ think _ of a sword, let alone touch one, even if it was Rose’s) for when he’s in actual  _ danger _ . Like if he got attacked by a stranger, or a monster appeared in the temple or boardwalk.

Still, Steven has his quirks, but it was like they’re usually ignored by the gems.

Honest to god, these aliens literally have  _ no idea _ how to take care of a child. Why in the  _ hell _ did Greg even allow this?

You’re calling it now- he’s going to get  _ traumatized _ when he’s finally allowed on missions.

_ ‘Well,’ _ you push away a stray branch blocking the path,  _ ‘at least I’m here to help numb it, at least.’ _

Shaking your head to clear the onslaught of thoughts, you turn towards Garnet, staring up with twinkling irises, “So… have you seen what this corrupted gem looks like?” She wonders, hands clasped behind her back, “Does it, like, look like like a deer, or is it some sort of… hybrid specimen or…?”

“It looks like a centipede.” Was the curt answer.

You frown thoughtfully, head tilted, humming.

A long silence stretches over the group, and you all finally reach a clearing by the cliffside, covered in dirt and torn up rocks.

But there wasn’t a gem in sight.

“Are we too late?” Pearl, standing beside Amethyst, frets, pulling at her transparent ballerina skirt, “Did the gem already leave?”

Garnet fixes her visor.

“...No.”

The ground bursts open with a shriek, introducing the corrupted gem to the world, and you take a moment to study it.

It’s body seemed to be more akin to that of an ant of some kind than a centipede, but shared  _ way _ more limbs than an ant had- from just what you could see, there was already eight popping out, and that’s only half of its body- and was a soft mint color with multi-shaded limbs; all of which were fading from hunter green, to emerald, to yellow at the tips. Its large, singular eye wildly spins on its face, the black dots surrounding it only highlighting the jade-color iris.

What’s even  _ stranger _ about the creature was that it had an actual  _ mouth _ in the shape of an eternal cheshire grin.

You couldn’t see its gem on its stomach, limbs or head- which meant it was either on the part of its body that was still underground, or on its back.

Both are probable.

“Amethyst,” you hiss, glancing her way, ignoring the pang in your chest at her glare, “you think you can get it to somehow lower its body?” She nods slowly, “Okay, do that! I think I can blind it if you do!”

“How am I going to get close though?” She questions irritably, and gestures towards the shrieking and squabbling gem, “Do you  _ see _ how volatile it's acting?!”

“I can cover you!” You summon Reflect, handing the shield-shaped glass to Amethyst, who stares blankly while Pearl gapes “This negates half damage done to you, but it only lasts for two and a half minutes when I’m not holding it, so make it count! I’ll take to the sky and keep its eyes on me!”

Without another word, you shot towards the sky, sturdy feathered wings allowing you to hover just over the treeline, glaring at the gem, “Alright me,” you mutter, staring down at the monster, a bubble of apprehension settling in the pit of your stomach, “you can do this… just gotta get its attention. So…”

You raise your arm, a golden glow echoing from your bracelets, and fling your hand to the side with a snap, shooting four golden stars at the monster, pelting its thick hide.

Its eye freezes, and moves in your direction.

It locks onto you, and  _ screams. _

A ripple of soundwaves come rushing at you, and you quickly rush to the left, moving faster in the air than the corrupted Peridot- that  _ was _ its name, right?- could move its body.

An neon twinkle catches your eye, and they move back down to the beast, which flings itself back and forth, flipping its body to jump at you, only to fall short. Its attention is quickly taken by Amethyst, who wraps her studded whip around one of its limbs, pulling with a grin. It screeches again and spins to face the alien, only for your eyes to lock onto its back.

The twinkle you saw was a round, upside-down triangle.

_ ‘It’s gem-!’ _

“Guys!” You rush towards the floor, beside the other Crystal Gems, “The gem! It's on its upper back- just below its head!”

Garnet summons her gauntlets, and Pearl her spear, with nary a thought, “Good eye, (Y/n). Keep its attention on you and Amethyst, Pearl and I will get its gem.”

You salute with a grin, flings flapping, “Aye aye captain!” and take back towards the sky, just out of its reach. You dive along the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust, and dart upwards, the momentum of your speed allowing the dust and dirt to follow you. Once just over the centipede- or was it an ant? Eh, doesn’t matter- you kick it in the head to gain its attention. Your grin widens when it spins towards you, screeching.

With a harsh flap of your wings, the dust is pushed into the being’s singular eye, blinding it.

It screeches again, smashing against the floor, trying to  _ see _ again.

“GUYS, YOUR TURN!”

Amethyst goes for the legs, Garnet its face, and Pearl anywhere she can really reach. Your eyes wander about, glancing at its open eye, only to see it  _ glowing. _

“Oh that can’t be good,” you wince, “maybe if I…?”

Bracelets glow again as you ready four swift stars, each with sharpened edges akin to that of a blade- a little trick that you and Garnet found out about a few days prior-, and allow your wings to glow as you rise higher in the air.

“Now I just gotta-!”

You begin to spin midair, creating a little cyclone, a gold and white ring surrounding the outer layer. You abruptly halt to a stop, shooting the stars at the gem’s eye, and flap your wings, increasing their velocity.

“-attack!”

The Peridot poofs as soon as the yellow blades hit its eye, vanishing before it can even scream in defeat.

Pearl bubbles the leftover gem, sending it away with a tap, and glances towards you, bewildered, “How…? We could barely pierce its hide!”

“Its eye was the weak spot,” you explain, hovering over the ground, feeling the liquid adrenaline pump through your veins, “I noticed that, especially since it seems to attack with its eye, and not its body.”

“How?” She pressures harshly.

“Its eye started to glow,” you shrug placidly, “now can we go home? I wanna tell Steven about- wait a minute, did I pass the test?” You question, staring up at the current leader of the Crystal Gems.

She doesn’t do anything for a minute, and you’re afraid you failed.

It's quickly washed away when she smirks and gives you a thumbs up. You heave a sigh, pressing your palm against your chest, “Oh thank goodne-” you pause, “...why am I glowing?”

Your entire body is  _ glowing. _

Like, glowing  _ white. _

A rush of energy runs through your veins (it burns; it really  _ really _ burns but it feels so  _ good) _ , which glow blue, and then you  _ change. _

The feeling- it's  _ indescribable _ , but the one thing you can say with 100% certainty is that you feel  _ powerful- _ lasts a good minute before falling, white flecks of energy puffing off your skin and to the ground, flashing as they die.

You turn towards the collective gems- Garnet’s  _ grinning, _ Amethyst’s gaping, and Pearl looks like she’s about to pass out- and blink.

“What?”

“You  _ evolved, _ ” the fusion faintly whispers, stepping closer, “stars, your  _ wings!” _

You flap them nervously, frowning, “W-What... about them?”

“They’re  _ huge!” _ Amethyst squeals, rushing up to you, whip vanishing in a flash of white and sparkles, “They’re, like, over twice the size they were originally! And you’re  _ taller! _ Ooh, and your hair! Your outfit too- nice job with the jacket and scarf, by the way. Did you just reform?”

You lean away, sputtering, “Uhh… n-no? What are you even talking about?”

They all glance at one another quietly, and Garnet gestures towards Pearl for…  _ something. _ The swordsman- woman? Gem?- sighs delicately and summons a crystalline mirror from her gem, handing it to you silently.

You take it, rolling your eyes, “Guys, I don’t understand why you’re freaking out! I’m still-” glancing at your reflection, your entire body  _ freezes. _

Whoever is in that mirror- in the  _ reflection- _ it's not  _ you. _

_ You _ have- had?- pink and yellow strands in your hair-  _ this _ version only has long, red braids throughout your untamed natural hair. Black, curved triangles sit beneath your eyes, curved inward just the slightest bit, and give your face a sharper look to it. Not only that, but you  _ know _ you left your hand down before leaving for this mission- why the  _ fuck _ is your hair in a ponytail?

Cold, wet realization smacks you in the face, and you shakily hand the mirror back to Pearl, checking your outfit as both dread and excitement settle in the bottom of your stomach.

No longer did you wear your short-sleeve car coat, brown shorts, knee pads, and toeless sandals, but were instead equipped with an open, brown, long-sleeve army jacket with a patch showing a white and red bird’s head on your back (not that you knew that, of course) with a cream-color interior, a white tank top, ripped cream colored shorts with red stitching and pockets, pink tights, and red and gold kitten heel combat boots.

Thankfully, you kept your grey goggles, red scarf, bracelets, and fingerless gloves from your prior outfit- only now those gloves were red with yellow cuffs instead of brown with  _ pink _ cuffs.

Also, your wings were bigger (though, the color seems to have changed just a tad bit. The brown isn’t a caramel color anymore, more so a muted brown, while the feathers are now an off eggshell white color, contrasting heavily against your figure, making your wings pop even more than they did prior. It was  _ weird)- _ and, to your utter surprise, you  _ were _ indeed taller!

Before, you stood at about four feet, give or take an inch. Now? You’re  _ easily _ four and a half feet, reaching the middle of Pearl’s chest instead of below like you did before.

“I’m so…  _ different,” _ you gape, pushing your cheek, rubbing at your markings with your thumb, “is… is this  _ supposed _ to be like this? Or did I somehow screw it up?”

Garnet gently sets her hand on your shoulder, and you turn to face her, tears beginning to brim in your eyes, “...Garnet?”

“You’re okay,” she rubs your shoulder, voice barely even that of a whisper, “nothing’s wrong, you’re fine, everything’s okay.”

You turn away, eyes locked on your gloved hands, mind flashing to your newest look, “W-What will  _ Steven _ think of me?” You murmur, concern pulsing through your veins, “W-Will he hate me? Think I was lying to him? Think I’m a  _ monster?” _ Your eyes water at the mere thought of him thinking such a thing, “G-Garnet, I don’t think I could deal with it if he  _ did _ think of me like that…”

“He won’t.”

“But how do you  _ know?” _

She fixes her visors silently, and you get the hint, “Right… future vision… fine, sure,” you sigh, glancing back towards the direction of the warp, “can we just… go home now?”

“Sure dude,” Amethyst smiles, slapping you on the back, “by the way, thanks for that shield thing, I probably would’ve poofed had you not given it to me!”

You weakly return the smile, though it looked more akin to a grimace, “No problem. Oh, hey, I uh…” your feet shift nervously, “sorry about what I said earlier, about knowing Steven better; that was uncalled for, especially since you guys have known him his whole life. It's just,” tired eyes meet hers, “when you guys leave, he  _ changes, _ and it's… not a  _ healthy _ change. I just happen to know… I guess  _ that _ side of him better, since I’ve seen it a number of times. But you all have known him longer, and I’m… sorry for  _ kinda _ being a bitch.”

The short gem stares silently for a few minutes, and laughs, slapping her hand on your back, “It's fine! I was kinda overreacting anyway, and I should’ve known you might’ve seen something we didn’t, so it’s alright! Don’t worry about it- apology accepted dude,” she nods at you, grinning ear to ear (which is weird because she doesn’t have ears??? At least, from what you know).

There isn’t a whole lot you can say to that, so you only nod in acceptance and pop open your wings, mentally noting that your total wingspan is easily double what is was before (which was ten and a half feet), and rise to the air with a flap of your wings, glancing at the gathered gems, “Hey, I wanna get used to… my new body, I guess, so I’m gonna fly instead of walk. Meet you at the warp pad?”

You’re given two thumbs up, and nod in gratitude, flinging yourself higher into the air, high over the treeline, and out of sight from the three intergalactic women.

“It's pretty up here,” you note, gliding across the currents, wings spread, “maybe I should take Steven out on a flight one day…”

Huh- now  _ there’s _ an idea!

Continuing your journey, you divebomb, spin, and race across the sky, the fading yellow and orange beams of sunlight lighting your figure up in a bright flash, strengthening you even further than before.

Truthfully, you feel  _ free _ up here- like nothing, no  _ one, _ can touch you.

It's  _ exhilarating _ .

“(Y/n)!”

You squeak in surprise, twisting your body to stare down at Pearl, whose hands encircle her mouth, “Come on, we’re about to leave!”

“A-Ah” you jolt, “coming Pearl!”

_ ‘At least they haven’t left me behind,’ _ you think with a wry smile, rushing down to meet the gems, hovering midair with a flap of your wings, “Hey guys, ready to go?”

“Hell yeah dude!” The punk of the group cheers, only to quickly be admonished, “Amethyst, language!”

Garnet only crosses her arms.

Hopping onto the crystalline warp, it lights up in rays of white, and suddenly you’re travelling across the world, hair waving. Then, in a matter of seconds, you’re back in the temple.

“Guys, you’re home!” The small figure of Steven rushes from behind the kitchen counter, slamming into Amethyst, arms hanging around her, “Welcome back!”

Garnet moves toward, ruffling his hair, and Pearl quietly frets about an non-existent injury he may have incurred from running into Amethyst. Once finding nothing, she moves to the kitchen to make dinner, and you’re just…  _ standing there _ , watching everything play out.

Then, coffee-brown eyes filter on your form, and you  _ freeze. _

“...” he’s silent.

Nervousness swells in the center of your chest, like a fluttering balloon that's compressing and decompressing constantly.

“...Birdie?”

The pressure leaves immediately, and when you nod, relief floods your system upon seeing the younger boy’s eyes light up in awe, “Birdie, what happened to you?! You look even cooler than before! Did you get taller?”

Your smile was small, but meaningful, “Something like that.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

Lips perk up even higher, “‘Ya know what? Sure. Wanna sneak out and talk about it on the beach?”

He just grins in agreement.

Yeah… yeah, this is okay.

You’re okay.

Everything’s  _ okay. _

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pearl: I'm going to murder you
> 
> Reader: :)
> 
> Pearl: I'm going to rip you piece by piece I swear to god,
> 
> Reader: >:)
> 
> \----
> 
> Reader: Steven is going to hate me oh god oh no Steven's gonna despise me-
> 
> Steven: Hey Y/n, you look awesome!
> 
> Reader, sobbing: I love you


	4. Hang Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader makes good on her promise to hang out with Steven.
> 
> It's a lot more different than she's used to though.

Beach City is easily the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen- if you  _ have _ ever seen anything else because, ‘ya know,  _ memory loss- _ and you would stand by that statement till the end of time. Not only was the place itself nice, but it has its fair share of residents that never cease to amuse you from afar.

Again- that was from  _ afar- not _ up close.

So when you let it slip last night, after returning from your mission, that you’ve never really  _ hung out  _ with the attendants of the city, save for maybe Greg, Steven just about blew a gasket, and pulled you outside to meet everyone.

Nothing you say or do stops him, so you eventually give up trying to change his mind.

“Why must you be so damn stubborn?” You whine playfully, poking his arm with a pout on your lips.

He only smiles, pulling out a small jar from his pocket, “Because I get it from the gems and dad. Now, put it in the swear jar!~”

You groan and drop a quarter inside, pouting at the half full glass, “Why am  _ I _ always the one that swears? Its not even that bad- its just a fucking  _ word!” _ You scoff, a hand on your hip.

Steven jiggles the jar, “ _ Jar, Birdie.” _

You roll your eyes good-naturedly, fishing in your pocket and pulling out a dollar, “Yeah yeah, whatever you say  _ princess.” _

The hybrid only giggles, pulling you towards the Big Donut, “Here we are- our first stop! Come on, I’ll introduce you to Sadie and Lars!” He pushes you towards the door, unknowing of how comical it actually looked from an outsider’s perspective- a young, chubby boy pushing what  _ seemed _ to be a teenage girl towards a donut shop.

You only wave at him with a huff, walking in, and then stepping to the left, allowing Steven to follow in after you. Your eyes travel towards the counter, locking onto a pair of young teenagers- short, heavy set female with curly platinum-blonde hair tied up into a bun, pale skin and brown eyes, as well as a lanky, slim male with slightly stretched earlobes, curly, tawny-colored hair, tired charcoal eyes and natural, limestone colored skin; both of which were wearing a purple T-shirt with a bitten donut print on it, spelling BD- that only seemed just a year or two older than you.

Well, physically- humans tend to age weird both physically and mentally, so you have no fucking clue how old these two are.

“Lars, Sadie!” Steven greets, hopping towards the counter, “Good morning!”

“Hey Steven,” ‘Sadie’ leans over the counter, smiling, “you’re up early- something going on?”

He grins, nodding, “Yeah! Guys, this-” he gestures towards you, and two sets of eyes lock onto your figure. A nervous smile stretches over your face, and you wave, ignoring how they stare at your folded wings, “-is (Y/n)- but I like to call her Birdie! Birdie, this is Sadie Miller and Lars Barriga- my other best friends!”

“No we’re not!” Lars sneers, shooting a curious look at you, eyes gleaming, “Anyway, when’d she get in town? Pretty sure the town would notice a girl with fucking  _ wings.” _

Sadie gasps, slapping the teen’s arm, sputtering indignantly, “Lars, that’s so rude! (Y/n), I am so,  _ so _ sorry for him, he didn’t mean to-!”

You wave a hand gently, silencing the girl, chuckling, “No no, he’s right. Uh, I was actually in town like, what, two weeks ago?” You glance at Steven for confirmation.

He nods.

Seeing you were correct, you carried on, “But, uh, the reason I haven’t really come in town, except like, that one time to get furniture, is because… I was kinda  _ sick?” _ Steven shoots you a stare filled with bewilderment, “Like, I kept getting fevers and stuff. I was on bedrest for, like, an entire  _ month,” _ you groan, wiping your bangs from your eyes.

The teens collectively wince.

“Yeesh, that sounds terrible,” Sadie mumbles, leaning away from the counter, “are you okay?”

“Hm?” You turn towards her and jolt, “Ah! Uh, yeah, I’m okay! Kinda just… need to get used to using me legs again still, cuz I usually, ‘ya know,” you gesture to your wings, fanning one of them out, “I usually  _ fly _ everywhere.”

There’s a long stretch of complete and utter silence.

“...Well, that’s weird-  _ you’re _ weird,” Lars deadpans, only to be smacked in the head by his partner, “ _ Lars!” _

He rubs his head, shooting the girl a glare from the corner of his eye, then glances back at you, “But…” you watch as he shifts a bit, folding your wing behind your back again, “...is flying…  _ fun?” _

Your beaming grin is all he needs as confirmation, seeing as he pouts, grumbling about how unfair it all is.

Seeing as her best friend is being a brat, Sadie turns back to the two of you, smiling gently, “So, now that we’re all introduced, you wanna buy a donut or a cookie cat?”

Quickly realizing  _ what _ she just said, you shoot a glare at Steven, shaking your head while holding up two fingers. He pouts, “Fine,” he whines, “no cookie cats. Can I just get a glazed donut? Birdie, what’d you want?”

“Cinnamon roll.”

Sadie rings up the tally, having Lars pick up the food and put them in separate bags, “That’ll be $3.70,” she replies, turning to face the two of you again.

Steven reaches for his pocket, but you grasp his shoulder, catching his attention, and shake your head. Pulling out your wallet (which is a leather brown with a yellow mouse-like creature with lightning bolt-shaped tail and red cheeks printed on the front), you pull out a five and hand it to the blonde teen, smiling.

“Keep the change,” you mumble, “thank you for your hospitality- we’ll be taking our leave now.”

Steven grabs the bags from Lars, grinning as wide as he could, “Bye guys! See ‘ya later!” and rushes out the door, standing by the steps.

Twisting your head, you smile and wave, leaving the bakery with a ring of the bell, ghosting after your best friend. He hands you your baggie, already munching on his own donut, and you pry it from his hand, opening the top and pulling out the sweet treat, staring at it.

“I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand your obsession with sweets,” you sniff, biting into the sugary bread, plopping down on the steps.

The nine-year old male rushes to sit beside you, leaning into your side with a smile, “Mmm maybe,” he hums, using the plastic as a wrapper to make sure he didn’t get any glaze on his fingers- then it's all sticky and it  _ sucks, _ “to be fair, I don’t understand how you can eat plain, unseasoned  _ rice.” _

For added effect, he shudders.

You huff amusedly, rolling your eyes good naturedly, “Yeah yeah, make fun of the girl for her ‘weird taste’,” you mumble, slowly chewing your roll, “you’re just jealous that I have the  _ guts _ to eat it mother fucking plain!”

He pulls out the jar again, “Swear.”

“Fuck.” You push in a dollar.

_ “Swear.” _

Pursing your lips, you grumble, handing the child another dollar, pouting as you stare at the glass- it was already halfway full, and you guys  _ just  _ emptied it last night!

Dammit.

Ripping off another chunk of your bun, you chew and swallow, then finish the last bite and throw away the plastic in the garbage can, wiping your hands on your jacket (not that they were dirty mind you, but eh, it's the thought that counts). Once finished, you turn towards the smaller, younger male, smirking, “Ready to go, Squirt?”

He gasps, as if struck, “ _ Squirt?! _ I’ll have you know that I am  _ perfectly _ tall for my age!”

“Steven, you look  _ eight.” _

“Excuse you, I’m  _ nine, _ so shut up.”

Throwing up your hands, you let him win, knowing that otherwise the two of you are just going to argue over it, and you don’t want to do that.

It's Saturday, which is considered “Steven Day”, and you don’t want to ruin the one day of the week where it's just the two of you hanging out.

Throwing away his own bag, he quivers a brow at you, beaming with joy, “Ready to explore Beach City?”

Humming, you nod, “Yeah.”

His lips quiver, a small frown replacing the once powerful grin, “You… don’t sound too excited,” he said softly, staring up at you with big, coffee colored irises.

You shrug, grabbing the boy’s hand, ignoring his cute little gasp, “I just don’t think I’m a people person,” you nervously admit, “I don’t know if I’ll  _ ever _ be one. But…” you crouch down and give a wary smile towards your best friend, tightening your hold on his hand, “...I’m willing to try- if not for me, then... for you.”

Eyes brighten at your declaration, and Steven lunges at you, hugging you hard enough that you felt your shoulder  _ pop. _ You internally wince- for such a little guy, he sure is strong!

“Thanks Birdie!” He chirps, tightening the hug just a tad bit, unknowing that he’s knocking the air out of you, “I’m so happy you’re trying; you’re the best!”

You tried to not allow his flying compliment stroke your ego- you really,  _ really _ tried.

It didn’t work.

Pushing him away with a finger, you smile delicately, “Come on shortie, lets go greet the town!”

“Yeah!” He beams even brighter- if possible- and grasps your hand, dragging you down the boardwalk, “Come  _ on! _ We gotta meet-” he abruptly pauses, to your confusion, beside a clothing shop- the racks holding various shirts, jackets, swimsuits, shorts, and jeans.

“Steven?”

“Do you have any other clothes?”

The question startles you, and you’re about to reply “yes” only to pause yourself-  _ did _ you have other clothes? Sure, you have three T-shirts, two shorts, a pair of jeans and a single jacket, but with your sudden growth, none of them really fit you anymore- at least, the jeans don’t, the others are just short and can be used as “crop tops” shirts and jackets, as well as short shorts.

All things considered, due to your evolution,  _ no _ , you  _ don’t _ have any other clothes.

“Uh…”

Steven pouts childishly, cheeks puffing akin to that of a chipmunk (you  _ barely _ resist the urge to coo), “Okay, fine, clothes shopping first,  _ then _ we can meet with everyone in town!”

“Aye aye captain,” you say, scratching your cheek in thought.

You’re quickly dragged inside and pushed inside the changing booth, Steven throwing various shirts, jeans and skirts over the top of the doorframe, “When you’re done putting something on, come model it for me!” He hollars, sitting outside the room.

“...M’kay.”

If you had been outside the little, paneled room, you would have seen the various stares of astonishment from the tourists.

The first was a classical, sleeveless, 1950’s red and white polka dotted dress, a white belt around the waist and white rose against the bottom of the collar strap. The ends fell to your mid-calf, and putting on a pair of white ballerina flats that Steven slid beneath the doorway, you opened the door and walk out.

He squeals, kicking his legs back and forth excitedly, hands clasped, “Oh! Birdie, look at you! You’re so  _ pretty!” _ He gushes, “Do a little twirl and tell me what you think!”

You twirl, lips turning at the flow of the outfit as it chases after your form, “It feels… nice.”

“Great! Now get back in there,” he said, shooing you into the room, “put the dress and any clothing you like on one of those hanging silver things, and those will be what we buy.”

Shaking your head, you do exactly that and get onto the second outfit. This one was a periwinkle pink-colored, short sleeve crop top, ending just above your belly button, floral lavender rolled-up jean shorts with a pink belt, and baby-blue tennis shoes with pink string. As an extra addition, you put on circular glasses with white frames and pink lenses, then step out, showing your best friend your new outfit.

“Ooh,” he cooes, bouncing excitedly, “that’s really cute on you! Might have to cut into the shirt for your wings though…”

“Probably,” you sigh, hand on your hip, “that’ll suck, but maybe we can make it work.”

“Maybe…”

You head back in and take off the outfit, switching it for a navy-blue T-shirt with sapphire colored stars, denim overall shorts, knee-high white socks, and navy colored sneakers. There weren’t any other accessories with this outfit that could work, so you just exit the room and showcase the outfit.

“That’s really cute too,” he says, clapping his hands, “maybe you’re just cute in anything?”

“Neon green.”

“You’re dead to me.”

Laughing, you reenter the room and throw on the final outfit; a white and blue striped long-sleeve shirt with tan skinny jeans, a brown belt with a golden buckle to make sure it stays tied up, and navy loafers. An added addition was the tan-colored headband with a blue bow that you put on your head, making the entire outfit pop. Once finished, you step out, glancing at the flowing sleeves, “This feels really nice,” you admit, pulling at the ends, “really,  _ really _ nice.”

“Then we’re getting it!” Steven declares, “Go put your normal outfit back on and grab the other clothes- we’re cashing out!”

While on the way, you grab two oversized shirts (one black with multiple pastel colors spelling “Sleep Squad” in bubble text four times over, and the other white with “Do Not  **Disturb.** Please, for the love of god, just don’t” spelled out in black across the front), two pajama shorts (one grey, the other monochromatic checkers), and white slippers.

Due to the sale going on, everything was eighty percent off.

“Well, that was fun!” The child chirps beside you, skipping, holding a single plastic bag, compared to your two, “We should do that again sometime!”

“Dude, I’m  _ literally, _ like, seventy eight dollars poorer…”

“So you’re saying it  _ wasn’t _ fun, Birdie?”

Your face scrunches up in distaste, “I never said  _ that- _ just that I have less money.”

“How much do you even have on you anyway?” He asks, the two of you heading towards the temple so you can drop everything off, “Didn’t you have, like, two hundred dollars or something?”

“180,” you answer, sighing, “but because of those donuts, and all those clothes, I only have 97 dollars on me right now.”

“That’s enough to get something to eat,” he muses, glancing at where Fish Stew Pizza sat, “plus, we can explore more and meet new people!”

“I thought you said we were going to drop the bags off first!”

“Yeah,” he nods, smiling, “but that was before I decided I was hungry.”

“But you ate, like, an hour ago!” You argue, cheeks puffing out.

Just then, a long, rumbling growl echoes against the boardwalk, and your cheeks flush abruptly at the smug look Steven’s sending you, “Wuh-? Ugh! What the fuck ever, fine, its eleven, lets get food!” You huff, turning and stomping towards the shop, grumbling.

You already knew where you were going, having seen Steven’s stare at the pizzeria four shops down the block. Plus, Greg got pizza from there once after you first got your room setup, so you already knew what they tasted like.

Rushing after you, the child grins, grasping your elbow with a soft, pudgy hand, “What kind do you want? I want pepperoni!”

“Do you like mushrooms?”

“Yeah?”

You look away, “Then I want mushroom.”

He brightens at your answer, latching onto your side and humming cheerfully, ignoring the gazes of various tourists across the boardwalk staring at you both in utter bafflement- especially the winged female.

Seeing the shop in sight, Steven rushes towards it, leaving you behind (“Steven?! What the- ugh! Get  _ back _ here!”) and pops open the door, beaming, “Hi Jenny, hi Kiki, hi Kofi, hi Nana!”

“Steven!” A young girl, probably twelve or thirteen, give or take, leans over the counter, smiling. She was dark skinned, not unlike that of Garnet, but with more caramel coloring, with curly, puffy black locks tied into a tight bun. A blue headband helps keep it in place, and- from what you could see- wore a white sleeveless blouse, and green skirt. “How’re you?”

“I’m good Kiki!” He chirps, grinning up at the teen, then points towards you, ignoring your huff of  _ “Pointing is rude Steven!” _ “This is my best friend (Y/n)! I want her to meet you and Jenny, because you guys are so nice!”

‘Kiki’s eyes stray over your figure, and lock onto your wings. She blankly stares, then squeals, vaulting over the counter top, “OH MY GOSH, YOU HAVE  _ WINGS! _ ” She squeals, bouncing excitedly, clapping her hands, “Are you a superhero?! No, wait, are you like Maximum Ride- a runaway from an evil experimentation facility trying to save the world?! Please tell me you’re like Maximum Ride!”

You stare at her with googly eyes, slowly inching backwards, “Uhhh…”

Seeing how uncomfortable you are, Steven clutches on Kiki’s skirt and gently tugs at it, obtaining her attention, “You’re making Birdie really uncomfortable Kiki,” he frowns.

Cheeks flush at her screw up, and upon seeing just how frightened you seem to be at her constant admission, and she rubs her hands nervously, glancing at you from the corner of her eye, “I, uh, I-I’m… I’m sorry about…  _ that,” _ she said gently, “you just… you just look  _ really _ cool.”

Blinking at the complete 180 in personality, you release the tension in your chest and allow your lips to quirk up in amusement, “Thank you, and… it's fine. You’re the first person who’s told me I look cool though… other than Steven and the Gems, of course.” You quickly pacify the hybrid when he pouts at you.

He brightens at your admission, smiles akin to that of the sun, “Good! Now come on, let's get something to eat!” He turns towards Kiki, “Hey Kiki, can we get a mushroom and pepperoni pizza please?”

She nods, nervousness moving to something brighter, “Sure! What size? And,” she glances your way, “are you two eating here, or do you want a to-go box?”

“Here please, and medium!” He chirps, bouncing on his heels.

“...Mkay, go ahead and pick an empty table,” she smiles, and walks back around the counter to the kitchen (distinctly, you hear  _ “Hey dad! We got a medium mushroom pep order!” _ from the back, but you  _ could _ have just imagined it) while Steven guides you to a table with a white and red checkered cloth.

You sit in one of the chairs, pressed against the corner of the restaurant, and place your bags on the floor, sighing heavily at the lifted weight, “This place only serves pizza?” You wonder, leaning against the table, staring at your friend with a quirked brow.

“I think they make calzones too, I think,” Steven hums, fiddling with his new phone charm you got for him in the shop that you thought suited him- a cartoon black sheep with pink horns, “and subs, I think- only pizza ones though, like parmesan, pizza steak, and… italian, I think it was called?”

He glances at the giant board above the counter showing all the possible restaurant choices.

“Yeah, italian.”

Leaning back in your chair, you huff a sigh, closing your eyes, “Cool.”

“...”

An extended silence stretches over the both of you, and you gather your wits, never noticing Steven curl in on himself.

“...Did… did I do something?” His abrupt question has you blinking, eyeing him strangely, only to zoom in on the saddened wet beads dotting his lashes.

“What?” You lean forward, elbows digging into the table cloth, brows furrowing in worry, “Steven, sunshine, what makes you say that?”

He curls further, lips quivering, “I-I just,” he wipes at his eyes, but it turns fruitless when more appear, “I-I, y-you just… haven’t been having f-fun a-and I keep dragging you a-and you seem-!”

A lightbulb goes off in the back of your brain, and your eyes soften, “Annoyed?” His nod has you wincing, guilt tugging at your chest for upsetting the one you cherish most, and you breath in deeply, reaching and grasping at his chubby, smooth hand from across the table.

“It's not you Steven,” you admit quietly, thumb rubbing against the back of his hand, “and I  _ have _ been having a lot of fun! It's just…” you scramble for a good way to phrase this without him taking anything out of context, “...I’m being introduced to a lot of people I’ve never met before and it's… scary. It's not your fault!” You wave a hand in front of you when Steven opens his mouth, “I’m just not a sociable person, and I don’t think I ever have or will be. But I’m trying for you, and yeah,  _ maybe _ I should have said something, but I didn’t want to upset you…”

Your eyes stray towards his hand, not meeting those searching, coffee-colored eyes, “...You don’t deserve that,” you mutter kindly, increasing the pressure of your hold just a little bit, “you  _ never _ deserve that.”

He’s silent, and when your eyes travel to meet his again, you’re taken aback by how  _ soft _ they are, not even noticing the boy intertwined his fingers with yours.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” he mumbles, eyes burning into you with something so  _ fierce _ that it set your chest on  _ fire, _ “you’re the best friend a guy could ask for.”

You shake your head, trying ignoring the pinkening of your cheeks, “I think you’re wrong there,” you say, tone fond, “ _ you’re _ the best friend a  _ girl _ could ask for. You’re the best period, and  _ I,” _ you sniff, “will hear no different!”

Steven snorts, releasing his hold on your hand (you suddenly miss the warmth it brings) to cover his face, abstract horror flashing across it at the fact he just  _ snorted. _

Covering your mouth with a hand, you giggle, grinning brightly at the younger boy, “Okay, that’s cute.”

_ “Shut up,” _ he whines, pouting at you.

“Mmm…” your grin widens at his face morphs into something akin to hope, “no.”

He deflates, and you  _ laugh,  _ to the amusement of your friend and those within the semi-empty restaurant.

Steven leans on his hand, watching you fondly, a sincere smile slipping onto his lips,  _ ‘Today’s been a good day,’ _ he decides,  _ ‘a very good day indeed.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments are appreciated plz I have a nEED FOR COMMENTS
> 
> Also WHOO BOY was this a chapter and a half. It was long and winding, but I managed- and it's like 3'000+ words so fuck I'll take what I can get my dude.


	5. Pity Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its Steven's birthday and reader is having an experience™️.
> 
> Also hi have a 15 page chapter I wrote :)

It's been over a year (approximately 450 days, or 64 weeks and 2 days- depends on how you count it) since you appeared, and it's been pretty fun overall- nothing compared to what you were expecting. You suppose the strangest thing to start off with, without getting into what you were  _ actually _ doing all this time, was figuring out when your birthday was- which you had no clue on, so May 22nd, the day that Steven found you, was your birthday.

Making you, due to a year passing, eleven.

Okay, other than  _ that,  _ first, you started to go on bi-weekly missions with the gems; sometimes you did well, like with the corrupted peridot, and other times… you screwed up.  _ Bad. _ Sometimes you did bad but still got the gem poofed and bubbled, and other times you do really,  _ really _ well, but don’t get the gem and then the others have to poof it for you.

It's weird- it's like there’s almost no middle ground for you in terms of succeeding or failing.

Besides missions, you’ve been training and getting your regular schedule up and running. Saturday was, of course, Steven Day, in which you just hang out with Steven either by your lonesome, or with friends- either or. Sundays and Fridays were days to train with the gems, with Garnet teaching you solely on Sundays, and Fridays having both Pearl and Amethyst (the fusion knew that if you and Pearl were put together without supervision, you’d try to kill one another) teaching you while Garnet watches from the stands.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays were your personal days- where you do your own thing for the time being for twenty four hours. Thursdays, and  _ sometimes  _ Sundays, were mission days on the weeks where you  _ do _ have missions; otherwise, you just have Thursday off.

Mondays, however, were the days that you work.

Yep, you have a job (well,  _ jobs)- _ ironically enough, it's at that T-shirt shop you and Steven shopped at all that time ago (called Clothes Contact- go figure) and you work from 9 AM to 1 PM with a savory pay of $8.00 an hour. You also work 2 to 6 at Funland Amusement Park for $18.86 an hour, which is a  _ very _ nice salary, all things considered.

Now that’s not a whole lot in context (seeing as you only bring home $107.44 dollars a week) but seeing as you’re a  _ kid, _ without a real need to pay bills, you’re doing pretty well.

Plus, you have your own money too saved up, so there’s that too (thank  _ god _ you got a job right after Steven took you shopping and out to eat, you didn’t want to keep paying for unnecessary things). So, in other words, due to saving up enough money without spending any from your job, you make about $5’586.88 a year, which is  _ really _ nice when one thinks about it- adding onto the $1’258.50 you had before means you have $6’845.38 in total saved up.

You have plenty to spend nowadays, thank  _ goodness, _ and you’ll just keep piling it up.

Not today though!

Despite it being monday, you took the day off seeing as it was  _ Steven’s _ tenth birthday, and had a few surprises for him that you were able to snag. First and foremost, you were able to swindle and pry Mr. Smiley enough to get two free all-day vouchers for Funland, both of which were for Steven, and bought a cute little pastel-pink, oversized sweatshirt with the white, bold font spelling out “Best of Both Worlds”, surrounded by the white lineart of a heart (though, you were baffled by the price- who in their right mind would spend  _ sixty bucks _ on a  _ shirt?  _ I mean, you were doing that exact thing but  _ still) _ from Clothes Contact after your shift.

As an extra gift, you bought a silver, ringlet bracelet with a bunch of tiny animal charms to signify Steven and his friends- a white crane for Pearl, a black and pink sheep for Steven, a fuschia bear for Garnet, a purple cat for Amethyst, an ape for Greg, and a brown sparrow to signify yourself- from the jeweler in Empire City after begging Garnet to take you to the closest warp pad. You were exceedingly proud of this gift, and just as a little secret, you place an envelope in the box stuffed with a bunch of five dollar bills, totalling out at two hundred bucks.

So, yes, you  _ may _ have spent a little  _ too _ much on Steven, but do you give a damn?

No.

Are you doing this to make him happy?

Yes.

Will it make the various few, painful weeks of looking for the right present worth it?

_ Hell yes. _

So now you’re sitting in the temple, wearing the same white and blue striped long-sleeve shirt, tan skinny jeans, brown belt with a golden buckle, and navy loafers you bought a year prior (now with cuts in the back for your wings), watching Steven bounce around with the brightest aura you’ve ever seen, grinning like a loon, while the gems and Greg sit on the couch, watching the boy bounce around like a tennis ball.

“Alright Schtu-ball,” the older man laughs, setting a hand on the vibrating boy’s shoulder, “gotta calm down there bud, let's play pin the tail on the donkey, then we can open some of your presents, okay?”

“Mhm!” He smiles up at his father, and stumbles towards the desk holding the pin and fake tail, dragging Pearl and Greg to help him with the blindfold while the others watch.

Warmth settles in your chest at the sight of the boy so happy- so  _ free- _ from the internal and external weight of being a Crystal Gem without being  _ treated _ as one. He’s so  _ happy _ after a week of sadness from the gems avoiding him (to plan the party and gifts accordingly, of course), and you don’t want to take that away from him, so you just sit atop the warp pad and smile, eyes glowing with a sort of soft fondness in them.

“Aren’t you going to join him?”

Flinching, you turn towards the purple gemstone sitting beside you, kicking her leg back and forth while the other stays pushed up against her body.

“Excuse me?”

An eyebrow quirks, “You’re not joining Steven; why?”

You blink, tilting your head only to turn back to the young child, who’s currently being spun around by his father, giggling dizzily when stopped. The sight brings a smile to your face, eyes soft, “Hm… he’s having fun, I don’t want to ruin it for him.”

“But he’s always having fun, especially with you around,”  _ ‘Seems Amethyst notices more than she lets on,’ _ you quietly think, humming, “I guess, but he rarely hangs out with Mr. Universe nowadays, I don’t wanna take away from that, I suppose.”

The female huffs, slapping you on the shoulder, “You’re ridiculous, ‘ya know that?”

Lips twitch upwards as you lean forward, resting your fist on your cheek, “Perhaps.”

Checking the time, you huff, pushing yourself off the crystal pad, “Has Pearl made lunch yet?” You ask, glancing at the tiny gem.

“Mhm… no, I don’t think so.”

Rolling your eyes, you huff, stepping into the living room, past Pearl, Greg and Steven, and straight to Garnet, “Yo boss, should I go ahead and make lunch? Cuz Amethyst says Pearl hasn’t done it yet.”

The fusion fixes her glasses, humming, “...Yes.” You smile at her agreement, “What will you cook, if I may ask?”

“Definitely something healthy,” you grumble, knowing how the gems usually let Steven buy whatever he wants- which is  _ not _ a good decision on their part. You usually had to accompany them on said trips and keep Steven from buying anything unnecessary, save a few snacks and puddings, while you do the  _ actual _ shopping.

Truthfully, there’s only one thing you and Pearl enjoy and won’t try to maim each other with, and its cooking.

She just rarely does it, what with constantly being out on missions, and you’re usually busy, so you can’t cook much except dinner alongside Steven. And it's usually something just a  _ little _ healthy, with a fair amount of calories and fat.

Well, not today!

Sighing, you continue on with your prior statement, under Garnet’s watchful gaze, “Well, he likes italian food, so I’ll probably make chicken pitas- its easy and isn’t messy, plus its healthy yet still good, even with the vegetables.”

Nodding, you’re shooed off towards the kitchen, and pull out the necessary ingredients, like sun-dried tomatoes, tortilla wraps, chicken filling, lettuce, shredded parmesan, and green, sturdy grapes, from the fridge and cabinets. You pull out an oversized plate, a cutting board, and a chef’s knife, and begin to make the meal.

You spread the wraps and sprinkle parmesan and tiny tomato pieces against the inner layer, then spread two layers of lettuce over the tomatoes, and then the shredded chicken overtop that. You roll it up, fold each opening, and cut it in the middle, placing both halves on the dining plate.

Then you repeat the process five times over, ending with twelve pieces total with a handful of grapes off to the side of the plate. As an extra little snack, you pull out a box of rich, juicy strawberries, as well as some cheesecake filling, scoop out the middles of each one, and stuff them with the creamy delicacy, sprinkling sugary crumbs over the top of the cream.

Then you spear a toothpick through each one, and set them on a smaller plate, grinning happily to yourself.

“Lunch is ready!”

In an instant, Amethyst is at the counter, eyeing the food with narrow, hungry eyes akin to that of a predator observing her prey, “Oooh, what’re these?”

You grab four wraps, set them on a small, paper plate, and hand it to the gluttonous gem, “They’re called italian pitas- simple, yet quite filling- with cheesecake stuffed strawberries as a dessert. Here ‘ya go! Enjoy!”

The stout gem bites into one of the pitas and groans happily, “ _ God, _ these are so freaking  _ good!” _

“Really?” Steven pops his head over the counter top and grabs one of the wraps from the giant plate without your notice, biting into the snack. He chews and swallows, gasping with stars gleaming in his eyes, “Woah, you’re right! Dad, Pearl, Garnet! Come check these out!”

Smiling, you pile your own plate and bite into the food, watching everyone eat with a kind smile, said smile growing along with your flushed cheeks at the various compliments shot your way. You swallow and wave a hand, cheeks red, “No no, they’re easy to make, it’s no big deal!”

“They are good though,” Garnet muses, having finished her own wrap (you knew that despite what it may seem,  _ Sapphire _ liked food, and Ruby did as well  _ at times.  _ Though, it was mostly Sapphire who made and allowed Garnet to eat, seeing as her love for some foods could be confusing as well as amusing at times), now biting into one of the various strawberries, “where’d you even come up with the idea for the strawberries?”

“Online cooking show,” you answer, shrugging.

After getting a laptop from Greg for your birthday, you started to look up more recipes than those just in the few books lying around in the kitchen, and found various blogs and shows that have helped you quite a bit these past few months, especially in the health department.

It didn’t hurt that they were all very tasty either.

“Twamk ywo!” You giggle at the boy’s thanks, handing him a napkin, knowing that he better clean his face before Pearl sees. He shoots you a thankful smile, wiping at his face, grin beaming brighter than the sun.

You smile, biting into your own strawberry,  _ ‘Steven really does light up a room, doesn’t he?” _

Pearl hums, catching your attention, and seemingly struggles for a moment, cheeks flushing blue, “I…  _ suppose _ that the strawberries were a good idea,” she mutters, chewing on her own bite, turning her head away from you.

Beaming, you nod your thanks, and continue eating, just enjoying the overall atmosphere.

After finishing off the food, Greg  _ miraculously _ decides that it's time to hand out Steven’s gifts.

You volunteer to go last, seeing as everyone else has known Steven much longer (though, you can’t help but notice how disheartened he was when you said that), and watch off to the side, drumming your fingers against the two boxes (both of which had an envelope inside) as you anxiously wait.

Greg’s first, of course, and hands Steven a box about the size of his hand, rubbing the back of his head, “I know it's not much,” he admits, watching the paper get torn, “but I hope you-” “A  _ PHONE?!” _

You lean closer, eyeing the dark screen and rectangular black case curiously, “Is that an IPhone 4?” You wonder, pointing at the device from behind Garnet.

The older Universe puffs out his chest, “Yep!”

“An _ IPhone,”  _ You say, throwing the man a look, “a device that costs  _ hundreds of dollars. _ And you gave it to  _ Steven?” _

“I won’t break it!” He whines, pouting at you, “Promise!”

“Make sure to it that you don’t, because that thing is  _ expensive, _ and I sure as hell won’t buy a new one if that one gets broken.”

He sneaks on a grin, “But!~ What if someone  _ else _ breaks it?”   
  


“Then you sue,” you roll your eyes goodnaturedly, “easy as that.”

“Fine fine…” He grumbles, waving you away, handing the device to Pearl when she made the motion to hand it over, “everybody’s a critic!”

“Everybody’s a critic when it comes to a ten year old  _ kid _ with the self-preservation of a  _ toucan,”  _ you dryly respond, to the amusement of Amethyst (and, unknowingly, Sapphire).

“OOH OOH! Me next!” Amethyst hops over to her best friend- and secret little brother figure-, a thin, purple box with white ribbon within her clutches, “Here ‘ya go dude!”

The top is easily popped off, and Steven pulls out three… thin plastic books?

Seeing as you’ve never read comics before, you can’t understand why the boy squeals in excitement, staring at Amethyst with one of the happiest expressions you’ve ever seen grace his face. A pit begins to weigh in the bottom of your stomach at the innocent, yet excited stare.

“You got me the next three volumes of Star Hunter?!” He gasps, grinning boldly at the gem, “These aren’t supposed to come out for another whole month!”

Amethyst leans back, a smug smile splayed out on her thick lips, “I managed to  _ persuade _ the owner of the company who makes them to give me a few a  _ tad _ early,” she responds, flipping her hair over her shoulder, “No need to thank me!~”

“She threatened them,” Garnet quietly deadpans, and Pearl quickly sets on the smaller woman, escalating into an,  _ almost, _ all out  _ brawl. _

Thankfully, Garnet reels them in with a clap of her hands (you honestly have no idea how she does it, especially with how much those two fight off and on again for almost  _ no fucking reason _ half the time. Then again, when you think about it, they  _ have _ been a team for thousands of years, so the fusion is bound to know which buttons to push and how to stop them) and hands Steven her own gift, this one in a box about the size of your head.

“Happy birthday Steven.”

You silently note how the magenta box has two layers of blue and red ribbon, and hide an amused smile- even now, this woman  _ still _ leaves hints for Steven to follow; how cute.

“Oh my gosh!” Steven’s exclamation brings you out of your thoughts, and you blink owlishly at the plastic cartridge in his pudgy hands, “You bought me a new video game?! Garnet, you’re the best!”

She fixes her glasses, smirking, “I know.”

The pit grows larger.

Pushing Garnet away with a gentle, but impatient nudge, Pearl beams at the young boy, a tall, long gift beside her, “Steven! Happy birthday,” she cooes, stepping closer and pinching his cheek, ignoring his small whine, “look at you, already ten years old! In just a few years, you’ll be all grown up! Ah, how the time has passed,” she dreamily sighs, hand on her flat chest, “now come on! I have your gift right over here!”

“Thanks Pearl!” He chirps happily, ripping off the paper, and you frown at the gift- a  _ bicycle. _ While Steven decides to sing his praises, stroking Pearl’s (in your opinion) fragile ego, you nervously glance at your own gifts in hand, the pit growing larger still.

All their presents are so  _ cool, _ but yours is just some stupid sweatshirt, bracelet, vouchers and money- they’re  _ nothing _ compared to the other gem’s various gifts.

Maybe you should just hide these before Steven sees…

“Are these for me?”

_ ‘Fuck,’ _ sweat dribbles down your temple,  _ ‘spoke too soon!’ _

Swallowing the rock lodged in your throat, you shakily nod, handing the two boxes to the boy, “Y-Yeah, they are,” your wing twitches, fluffing up, “I-I hope they’re okay, I-I’m  _ really _ bad at g-gift ideas.”

“No way!” Steven grins at you, opening the box with the sweatshirt and vouchers, “There’s no way you-” he pauses, staring at the envelope, and you flush, “T-There’s stuff inside, I promise!”

Wordlessly, he rips it open, and pulls out both funland vouchers. He stares blankly, brows furrowing, “...How did you manage to get free, all-you-can-ride tickets to  _ Funland?” _ He wonders, turning towards you, “I didn’t even know that Mr. Smiley even  _ made _ these things!”

You rub your arm nervously, lips wobbling into a makeshift anxiety-ridden smile, “A-Ah, he uh, usually  _ doesn’t. _ I mean,” you quickly backtrack, seeing Pearl’s eyes narrow from the corner of your eye, “He  _ does _ make them, but they’re only ever given to his family! I managed to persuade and annoy him enough that he gave me two, and I decided that you’d like them more than I would, so t-!”

Your rambling is cut off by everyone laughing- save Pearl, but she  _ is _ smiling, so that’s  _ something _ at least- joyously, confusing you greatly until you understand.

You’re making a goddamn  _ fool _ of yourself.

Cheeks flare with heat, turning your skin a bright pink, “I-I-! Ugh!” You throw your arms up, cheeks flushing even brighter than before, slowly turning red, “Y’all  _ suck!” _

Steven smiles at you, and reaches back into the box, pulling out the oversized pastel sweatshirt, eyes turning into stars at the outfit, “Oh my  _ GOSH! _ Birdie!” He spins to face you, and you’re momentarily struck by how  _ bright _ he is, “Thank you  _ so _ much! Gosh, look how  _ cute _ this is! I bet it's super warm too!”

He quickly throws it on.

“It is!”

Amethyst chuckles, a smirk on her lips as she softly tugs at the sleeves, “ _ Wow _ Steven, I didn’t know that you liked  _ pink!~” _

“I  _ love _ pink!” He scoffs, throwing the hood up over his head, “It’s such a manly color!”

“Sure it is cutie pie,” Garnet says, smirking (you can feel her glancing at you and you, when everyone turns to face her, flip her the bird. Sadly, the irony isn’t lost to her, because her smirk grows even  _ larger), _ “sure it is.”

“Oh Steven,” Pearl cooes, clasping her hands together as she stares at the boy, “you look so much like Rose in that shade! Now if only your hair was pink…”

_ ‘He’s not Rose,’ _ you wanted to scream, frustrated at their constant dismissal of his own person, only to replace it with their former leader,  _ ‘he’ll  _ **_never_ ** _ be Rose!’ _

But you hold your tongue; training would only be increased if you said such a thing.

You couldn’t afford that, not right now.

“Looks good Schtu-ball,” Greg affirms, giving a cheerful grin- so akin to Steven’s own that it throws you for a loop for a moment- and thumbs up to his son.

Steven pulls the sleeve away from Amethyst’s grip, a faint frown marking his face, only to be replaced by his signature grin a moment later, “Thanks guys! And…” twisting his body and head, he stares up at you, charcoal eyes burning with  _ something _ (it makes your face feel hot again), “...thank you for this, (Y/n). It means a lot.”

His words only seem to increase the heat settled on your cheeks, and you momentarily twitch, feathers fluffing up unevenly. Huffing, you drop the smaller box in Steven’s lap from overhead, turning away and crossing your arms.

“Uh,” the child’s eyes flutter in confusion, “Thank… you?”

“Hmph!”

At your dismissal, Steven pops open the second box, and pulls out the second envelope, ripping it open, seeing the various dollar bills hanging inside. Amethyst snags it, counting the magnitude of fives, and openly gapes at you, “You gave him  _ two hundred bucks?!” _

More heads snap towards you, though Garnet doesn’t seem very surprised- at least, compared to the rest of them-.

“You  _ what?!” _ Pearl shrieks, snatching the envelope from the shorter gem’s hands, “(Y/n), do you have  _ any _ idea how much money is in here?!”

“Two hundred dollars, Amethyst  _ just _ said that, Pearl,” you respond blankly, staring daggers into the thin, bird-like gem.

“That’s too much!”

“Oh I’m  _ sorry,” _ you say, sarcasm lacing your voice like liquid toxins, “should I have just put in ten dollars? Or, perhaps, fifty? I’m  _ sorry _ that this is my way of expressing gratitude because of how much  _ Steven _ has helped me out!”

You glance towards Amethyst and Greg, eyes sharp as your voice, “And I know for a  _ fact _ that my gifts aren’t the most expensive ones either. I mean, IPhones are  _ easily _ five hundred dollars, and the comics one would have to pay a small  _ fortune _ to have released early. So, really, should you  _ dare _ be scolding me?”

Pearl opens her mouth, cheeks flushing.

“No, she  _ shouldn’t _ be.”

It shuts with a click.

Shooting Garnet a grateful smile from behind the small crowd, the leader grabs the money and hands it back to Steven, smiling at the small boy, “Make sure to save it,” she mumbles, tone playful with a steely edge, “okay?”

“Of course!” He cheers, taking the envelope and stuffing it back in the box, pulling out the last gift- the bracelet and charms. He’s silent as he takes it out, nothing but the jingling of charms hitting one another echoing throughout the room.

Amethyst leans closer, narrowing her eyes at the gift, frowning thoughtfully, “Uh, what even is-?”

Quicker than anybody can even grasp, Steven’s gone from his spot and you’re on the floor, an unknown weight on your chest and arms looped around the small of your back, pressing their figure further into you.

Your bewildered eyes meet the teary ones of your best friend.

Oh, wait, it’s just Steven.

_ ‘False alarm,’ _ you sigh, lifting your arms to hug the boy, huffing in amusement when his grip tightens even further,  _ ‘good, I guess.’ _

“Is something wrong, sunshine?” You ask, rubbing his back, confusion settling in your chest- or perhaps it was just his weight?- when Steven shakes his head. “No? Then why are you crying?”

“...Mm not crying,” he mumbles, head laying on your upper sternum. Your eyebrow quirks, and you dully stare at the boy, unimpressed, “Oh really? Then do tell why there’s water in your eyes?”

“...My eyes are sweating.”

You roll your eyes, sitting up, leaving the boy curled up in your lap, “That’s a stupid excuse and you know it.”

He snorts, snuggling closer to you, “Yeah, but you love me even though I make said excuses.”

Lips quirk up in a smile, “Well, you’re certainly not wrong,” you hum, planting a kiss on the boy’s forehead, “happy birthday sunshine, I love you.”

Steven’s arms tighten again, face buried in your chest- unknowing of the kind, sincere smile lighting up his face- “...I love you too, Birdie.”

Today, in your humble opinion, turned out to be a pretty good day.

…

Steven still won’t let go of you though.

(You don’t really care, but those smug looks from Garnet and Amethyst make you want to punch them in the face, and if you didn’t have the cutest cinnamon roll in the world curled up in your lap, you probably would have.)

\----

Four hours later, the party dies down, and everyone goes back home. Well, technically everyone  _ is _ home, save Greg, but he decides to stay and sleep on the couch for the night, and you’ve already dealt with everyone since nine AM, so you’re  _ done. _

Nope, no more people time for you!

So here you are, in your PJs (a navy-grey baggy T-shirt with a white, sleeping kitten’s face, black and white polka dotted shorts, and clean white socks), laying on your bed as you watch Sailor Moon (Greg got you the first four seasons of Sailor Moon as a birthday gift. He also got you Tokyo Mew Mew, Soul Eater, Black Cat, Strike Witches, and Fullmetal Alchemist- but those aren’t important) defeat Pharaoh 90 for the upteenth time, hugging your squishy, pink pillow to your chest.

**“Bzzt!”**

You blink at the noise, turning your head towards your nightstand, noting the slight glow from your Pokedex screen.

Reaching over, you flop on your stomach and grab the device, unhooking it from its charging station. You pop it open, eyebrow quirking, “What’s up Tec?”

**“You have gained [one] new form!”** They beep, screen showing a red dot beside your ShiftDex tab,  **“You have gained [one] new tab! [Relationship] Tab unlocked!”**

“Oh?” You shift your body, studying the device closely, “Explain the relationship tab and its features and uses.”

Tec, your AI, pops up on the screen, their pixelated head nodding excitedly,  **“Sir yes sir!”**

The white tab with the red heart opens by itself- probably prompted by Tec since they can kinda do whatever they want- and gives you a list of… people?

**“This-”** their avatar pops back up, even smaller than before,  **“-is the Relationship tab! Now, this tab is actually very important for two reasons! First,”** they hold up a finger,  **“it measures your status with other people, based on impressions, actions, conversations- etcetera etcetera. This is important because based on your Reputation, you get new forms! Here’s an example…”**

A picture of Steven, fully colored and everything, appears on the screen with a little sheet beside him.

**_Name:_ ** _ Steven Universe _

**_Gender:_ ** _ M _

**_Age:_ ** _ 10 _

**_Reputation:_ ** _ Close Friend _

**_Forms Unlockable:_ **

_ Chespin _

_ [Locked] _

_ [Locked] _

_ [Locked] _

_ [Locked] _

**“Steven sees you as a close friend, meaning you unlock your first alternate form,”** Tec explains, their voice booming through the speakers, blocking out the background noise of Sailor Moon singing her intro once again,  **“the higher his reputation with you, the more forms you unlock.”**

“How many are there?” You ask, tilting your head at the AI.

**“Positive or negative?”**

“Both.”

**“Then there’s,** **_technically,_ ** **thirty-two,”** they respond, shrugging their avatar’s shoulders,  **“There’s a thirty-third which is called Unknown, which means they’re truly neutral about you. Case in point, they either haven’t met you and made an opinion, or just don’t give a damn.”**

“What about the positive and negative?”

**“Well, there’s** **_technically_ ** **fifteen for each,”** they sigh, waving a hand,  **“but it's classified as sixteen for each since, ‘ya know, they** **_both_ ** **have ‘Neutral’ as their first level. Anyway, I’m going to take a wild guess and say you want to know more about each one? What is each level?”**

Your lips quirk up in amusement, “You know me so well, Tec.”

They shrug,  **“It’s been well over a year, of** **_course_ ** **I know you so well. Okay, so since I can’t really** **_say_ ** **all of these without causing** **_some_ ** **amount of confusion,”** they wave their hand again,  **“I’m just going to bring up a page, let you gloss over it, and be done with it. Easier for both of us, ‘ya know?”**

“Mhm… true,” you say, heaving a breath, “you’re definitely not wrong there.”

**“Of course not,”** they sniff,  **“here ‘ya go. Read and tell me when you’re done.”**

“M’kay,” you mummer, watching the screen be taken by a white sheet with various black, bolded letters.

_ Positive: Neutral _ **_\- Acquaintance - Friendly - Close Friend - Best Friend - Well Liked - Companion - Admired - Respected - Honored - Exalted - Family - Hero - Worshipped - Romantically Interested - Lover_ **

_ True Neutral:  _ **_Unknown_ **

_ Negative: Neutral _ **_\- Annoyance - Unfriendly - Rival - Disliked - Opponent - Greatly Disliked - Hostile - Sworn Enemy - Contempt - Despised - Hated - Abhorred - At War - Reviled - Villain_ **

Skimming the page once more, you tap the ‘next’ button.

**“Oh, you’re done already?”** Tec pops back on screen, blinking their pixelated eyes at you,  **“That was fast. Anyway, yeah that’s pretty much the gist. The higher or lower the reputation, the more forms unlocked. But…”** they openly  _ wince, _ to your astonishment and confusion,  **“please** **_try_ ** **not to piss anyone off enough that you get a** **_bad_ ** **negative score with them, alright? Annoyance, unfriendly and rival are fine, but anything beyond Disliked, and you’re kinda** **_fucked._ ** **Plus, those are the forms that you do** **_not_ ** **want.”**

Eyes narrow in consideration, “Why?”

**“Their forms are based more on Shadow Pokemon, a type that is more… I suppose the words would be ‘hostile and feral’, would it not? Anyway, this is important, because it is very hard to control these forms.”**

Tec notices your look and waves their hands sporadically,  **“I’m not saying these forms are bad-”** “Sounds like you are.”  **“-and yeah, they’re exceedingly powerful, but extremely hard to control when in use. If you decide to use one, should you get it, go right ahead, but go somewhere that is calm and quiet- the last user of your bloodline said it helped.”**

You understand his argument, but that last sentence catches you off guard, “‘Bloodline’?”

You didn’t think it was possible for an AI to pale, but that’s exactly what Tec did, shockingly enough.

**“Oops,”** they cover their mouth, turning away from you,  **“did I say bloodline? I meant to say family- I MEAN!”** A squeak sounds from the speakers,  **“Goodnight (Y/n)!”**

“Wait Tec-! Dammit!” You slam your fist into your mattress, a growl escaping the confines of your throat, “Eh, whatever, I’ll get it out of them eventually.”

You glance at your clock and flinch as if struck, “Holy shit, it’s already ten?! Fuck, I have to help Greg at the car wash tomorrow!”

As you rush to turn your TV off and head to bed, a thought wiggles into the depths of your mind.

_ ‘Do… Do I have a family?’ _

Part of you  _ desperately _ hopes that,  _ yes, _ you do.

An even bigger part  _ pleads _ for you not to have one- for the  _ gems,  _ for  **_Steven,_ ** to be your family.

You push that thought- that  _ hope- _ down fiercely.

You don’t need to hope anymore. You don’t  _ want _ to hope anymore.

You’re already broken in little ways- you shouldn’t even  _ be _ here, invading on these people’s perfect lives. You shouldn’t be this  _ broken, _ this  _ hopeless,  _ this  _ pathetic! _

But you are, and a part of you hopes- no,  _ yearns- _ to stay with the gems and be a part of their little family.

You squash that hope as soon as it appears.

_ ‘I don’t need help,’ _ you think, thoughts swirling,  _ ‘I’ll just stay long enough to get the hang of my powers, and then I can leave.’ _

...Then everyone can be  _ happy. _

You don’t want (yes you  _ do) _ happiness.

_ ‘I don’t deserve it…’ _

Maybe one day you would have it, but... not now.

Steven’s more important. His  _ happiness-  _ his joy, his overwhelming, warm  _ love- _ is more important, and honestly?

That’s all that really matters.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know this is gamer-esque, I know I know. But like.... this isnt the only way to gain forms, it's just an easier, less dangerous version I suppose.
> 
> Dont worry, something better will come of this soon :)


	6. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Power is terrifying, and (Y/n) figures that out firsthand.

\---

“So… lemme get this straight. What you’re trying to tell me is… you have a new form unlocked, through “friendship”, and haven’t even tried it out yet?” Garnet questions, staring at you, bafflement written all across her face.

You kick a rock, nodding, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Do you have any information on it?” She wonders, finger on her chin, visions flashing over hundreds of possibilities.

Sighing, you dig out your Pokedex, click the form’s information slot, and hold it up, Tec activating the speakers.

**_“Chespin,”_ ** they sound loudly, the screen showing a gopher-looking animal with a green, spiky ‘hoodie’,  **_“The Spiny Nut Pokemon. With such a thick shell of wood covering its head and back, even a direct hit from a truck wouldn’t faze it. It is well known to be the Grass starter of the Kalos region, and is extremely rare outside of the Professor’s laboratories or natural breeding facilities. This Pokemon is weak to Flying, Fire, Ice, Poison and Bug, but resists Grass, Electric, Water, and Ground.”_ **

It beeps, then continues.

**_“This Chespin is level 10, and owns the ability, Overgrow, and hidden ability, Bulletproof. Currently, it knows six moves, consisting of Growl, Vine Whip, Rollout, Iron Defense, Low Kick, and Energy Ball.”_ **

A long silence stretches over the both of you once the information is finished being recounted.

“...That’s rough,” The gem shoots you a sympathetic look, knowing you were starting from the beginning again, seeing as your “Pidgeotto form”- as they learned it was called- was already level 27.

Meaning you had pretty much been “soft reset” (Steven’s words, not theirs), so you can’t really  _ do _ anything yet.

It was like an intermediate gamer just got a forced reset and had to complete an entirely new save file, but their initial class that they used is now unavailable, and they’re not a beginner to a new set of skills yet unseen.

In other words, you fucking hate this- a whole fucking lot, actually.

Well, you suppose it would be worse- this could have happened five years down the line and with no chance to transform. Then you’d be  _ royally _ pissed.

“Have you told Steven yet?” The gem questions sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.

You shake your head, “He doesn’t-” you pause, “correction; he  _ can’t _ know about this. Not yet, at least.”

“Why not?”

Shrugging your shoulders, you try to get the gem to understand as much as possible, “Steven will get all excited at this new form, with all these new powers available to me, but… without any practice or drive, I’m going to disappoint him. Besides that, this new form is…” your brow furrows, lips curl distastefully, “ _ undesirable.” _

Garnet quirks a brow, “Should I be worried?”

“No, not really, but don’t you  _ dare _ make me use these powers until I’ve all but mastered them!” You snarl, feathers ruffling at your aggression, hands clenching and twitching to rip  _ something _ apart, “Under  _ no circumstance _ unless someone is about to  _ die _ am I to use my powers! At least with my aerial ones, I’ve gained  _ somewhat _ of a proficiency with them! These I haven’t, and that makes them a hundred times more dangerous!”

The gem only rolls her eyes, but doesn’t disagree- the only reason her charge would use her new abilities when not training is if the gems or herself were in danger, and with how battles have been recently, that isn’t really an issue.

“Just as long as you master them,” she waves a hand dismissively, eyes boring into the pre-teen, “now, show me this new form!”

You scoff,  _ ‘Demand demand demand- that's all she ever does! Does this woman ever say  _ _ please _ _?’ _ but comply, because like  _ hell _ you were getting your teeth knocked out because you decided to rebel.

Yeah, no way, not happening.

Flipping your Pokedex back open, you tap the screen and can only hiss when you feel yourself  _ shift. _ And then you’re not existing, floating within limbo with no body to will, no voice to scream, no  _ mind _ to  _ think- _ and then you just  _ are _ a few seconds later.

Falling over, you gag- something claws in your stomach, bile rises in your throat, and your eyes  _ burn. _

The feeling was ardent- biting, merciless and  _ violent- _ and honestly, you just wanted to fall over and  _ cry _ at the mere  _ tug _ (was it reality, Garnet, your power, or your stomach? God,  _ fuck, _ you couldn’t even tell and, quite frankly, don’t care either) that pushes within- around?- you.

Something glides over your hand, and glowing, bleary eyes whip around to stare into concerned spectrum of colors, dazing you even more and making your head pound  _ relentlessly  _ against your skull.

Suddenly, the stadium feels too full, but also too empty. Too much, but not  _ enough. _ You can only mutely watch as Garnet’s lips move to say  _ something _ but you can’t  _ hear, _ and your lungs fall flat at that revelation, and now you can’t  _ breathe! _

Images flash ahead of your mind’s eye- some of a little girl strapped to a table, screaming to the rooftops as men in white stick her with various colored needles. You can only watch in abstract horror as the child’s arm enlongs to frightening lengths, the elbow dropping to the fucking  _ floor _ as a long reptilian tail sprouts from the child’s backside, flopping messily onto the metal table.

The girl screams again, and you’re taken aback by the sound of the voice. Only for a silent, hysterical  _ howl  _ to rip from your throat because you  _ know _ that voice.

That’s  _ you. _

That little, petrified girl is  _ you. _

You recognize that hair and eye color  _ anywhere- _ afterall, you see it in the mirror every day.

From there, the images just get  _ worse. _

Your skin, unknown to you, begins to pale drastically, frightening Garnet even further, and the fusion flounders about unknowingly, both gems flipping out- one hysterically crying, and the other uselessly trying to find a solution ( _ “How do we help her?!” _ Sapphire chokes out, fat globs of tears falling down her face.  _ “I don’t KNOW!” _ Ruby bellows, eyes blown wide as she tries to think of  _ any _ instance where this happened with either gems  _ or _ humans,  _ “I-I just-! I don’t-!” _ ).

_ ‘This has  _ _ never _ _ happened with Steven!’ _ Garnet’s eyes burn, lifting another hand to grasp at her charge,  _ ‘(Y/n)’s never done this either, so what’s  _ _ wrong _ _?! What’s so  _ _ different _ _ this time?!’ _

The unknown used to fill the tall gem with excitement, with a hint of cautious anxiety in case anything ever went wrong. But now, that very same thing she used to be  _enamored_ by just fills her with panic and apprehension and  _ she doesn’t know what to do Rose-! _

In that moment of time, the fusion is  _ way _ out of her element.

Hands grasp at your arms, steadying you, faint tremors wracking your body _ \- when did you start shaking?- _ as the gem continues to move her lips, eyes no longer covered by her visors-  _ when did they fall off? What’s happening?- _ blown wide in panic with tears brimming at the edges.

**_‘Breathe, my vessel.’_ **

You pause, trembling in your caretaker’s arms, the soft, regal voice bouncing around inside your head.

Why does it make you feel  _ safe? _ What is this?

Biting back a bitter, hysterical laugh- because,  _ how wonderful _ , you’re fucking going  _ crazy!- _ , you ignore the voice, instead opting to curl inwards and claw at your arms, leaving small divots from your nails, trying to push the static in your ears and pounding in your head away.

_ ‘God,’ _ you internally huff from behind you panic,  _ ‘I’m making such a fucking mess of myself.’ _

Then, abruptly- with  _ no warning, _ like,  _ at all-, _ Garnet grasps at your arms again and drags you into her lap, ripping a startled yowl from you as you try to claw away, pushing from the gem’s sturdy pull. The sounds of the screams and crying in your head grows louder, the visions gets worse, and you feel so fucking  _ tired _ all of a sudden.

No, not tired- dazed and horrified, like the wind was sucked from your lungs by a vacuum. Black spots swirl at the edges of your vision.

**_‘My vessel, please, breath!’_ **

Vehemently, you disregard the voice entirely, wobbling in your trainer’s lap.

**_‘Child, breathe!’_ **

“You’re not real,” you gasp, vision beginning to blur around the spots, “you’ve  _ never _ been real!”

The spots continue to edge further, and your body begins to shake even more than it did previously. You forgo trying to rip yourself away from Garnet, instead putting your hands against your ears, the ringing growing louder from the second. You notice the gem’s mouth moving again, and absently wonder what she's saying.

Darkness compresses your sight before you get an answer, and the buzzing becomes deafening- like a thousand bees swarming in your ears.

**_“(_ ** Y/ **_N_ ** ) **_!_ ** ”

Your chest pulls, but nothing comes from it.

The world fades away.

\---

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so this chapter is like WAY shorter than normal bc I've had horrible writer's block for fucking WEEKS. So, uhhhh yeah that's been happening. Also if anyone asks, I'm Inudathefox on Tumblr, Insta and Twitter uwu.


	7. Discord is up!

[The "One of a Kind" discord is officially up! Come join us and have fun!](https://discord.gg/jzam8B)

**Author's Note:**

> personal discord server is officially up!!!


End file.
